Travels into North America : containing its natural history, and a circumstantial account of its plantations and agriculture in general, with the civil, ecclesiastical and commercial state of the country, the manners of the inhabitants, and several curious and important remarks on various subjects

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University of Toronto

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“NORTH AMERICA;

CONTAINING

Irs Natrurat History, AnD

A circumftantial Account of its Plantations
and Agriculture in general,

WITH THE

CIVIL, ECCLESIASTICAL AND COMMERCIAL

STATE OF THE COUNTRY,

The MANNERS Of the INHABITANTS, and feveral curious
and IMPORTANT REMARKS on various Subjects.

YBa PE Re KA LM,

Profeffor of Oeconomy in the Univerfity of 4040 in Swedith
Finland, and Member of the Swedi/h Royal Academy of
Sciences.

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

By JOHN’REINHOLD FORSTER, F.A.S.

Enriched with a Map, feveral Cuts for the Illuftration of
Natural Hiftory, and fome additional Notes.

Bee Lartee 1,

WARRINGTON:.
Printep by WILLIAM EYRES.

MDCCLXxX.

-

By | LV A, 2
7 fy r a oe ayer

TO THE HONOURABLE
DAINES BARRINGTON,

One of his Majefty’s Juftices of the
- Grand Seffions for the Counties of ©
ANGLESEY, CaERNARVON, and
Manton wir

SIR,

a performance which will in fome
meafure difplay to the Britifh
nation, the circumftances of a coun-
try which is fo happy as to be under

‘its protection. |
Every lover of knowledge, efpe-
cially of natural hiftory, muft be fen-
fible of your zealous endeavours to
_ promote every branch of it. It was
my great happinefs to fall within your
‘ notice, and to receive very fubftantial
and feafonable favours from your
a patronage

| Prefume to prefix your name to

iv DEDICATION.

patronage and recommendations. I
fhall ever remain mindful of your
generofity and humanity towards me,
but muft lament that I have no other
means of exprefling my gratitude than
by this publick acknowledgment.
Accept then, Dear Sir, my ear-_
neft wifhes for your profperity, and
think me with the trueft efteem,

Your moft obliged,
and obedient

humble Servant,

WARRINGTON,
Jury 2sth.1770. -

John Reinhold F uifter.

ee A Ga. BR

HE prefent Volume of Profeffor
| Kalm’s ‘Travels through North
| America, is originally written in

the Swedi/h language, but was
immediately after tranflated into the German
by the two Murray's, both of whom are
Swedes, and one a pupil of Dr. Linneus,
and therefore we may be fure that this tran{-
lation ERTRPBRG exactly with the origi~,
Hake hy:

Baron Sten Charles Bielke, Vice prefi-
dent of the Court of Jufticein Finland, was
the firft who made a propofal to the Royal
Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, to fend
an able man to the northern parts of Siberia
and Iceland, as places which are partly un-
der the fame latitude with Sweden, and to
make there fuch obfervations and colledti-
ons of feeds and plants, as would Improve
the Swed ifD ar gardening, manu-.

factures,

vi Be RY EWE Aw Cae:

factures, arts and fciences. Dr. Linnaeus
found the propofal juft, but he thought that
a journey through North America would be
yet of a more extenfive utility, than that
through the before-mentioned countries ;
for the plants of dmerica were then little
known, and not fcientifically defcribed, and
by feveral trials, it feemed probable that the
greateft part of the North American plants,
would bear very well the Swedi/h winters ;
and what was more important, a great many
American plants promifed to be very ufeful —
in hufbandry and phyfic.
Tuus far this journey was a mere {cheme;
but as Captain Trzewald, a man well known
for his abilities in England, gave his Ob/er-
vations on the Cultivation of Silk in a feries of
Memoirs to the Royal Academy of Sciences,
and mentioned therein 'a kind of mulberry
tree, which was difcovered by Dr. Linnagus,
and which bore the rigours of the Swedi/h
climate as well as a fir or pine tree; this
circumftance revived the propofal of fuch a
journey in the year 1745. Count Tefin, a
nobleman of eftablifhed merit both in the

“. political and learned world, becoming pre-

fident of the Royal Academy, it was unani-
moufly agreed upon to fend Profeflor Ka/m to
North America. 'The expences were at firft
_a great obftacle; but the Royal Academy -

3 wrote

Pk) EK PAY Cr E vil

wrote to the three univerfities to affift them
in this great and ufeful undertaking. obo
fent firft her {mall contribution, Lund had
nothing to {pare, but Up/a/a made up this

deficiency by a liberal contribution.
Count Piper was intreated to give a fa-
mily exhibition to Mr. Kalm, which he
readily promifed, but as the Academy had
obtained from the convocation of the uni-
verfity of Up/ala and the magiftrates of
Stockholm, another exhibition of the family.
of Helmsfield for Mr. Kalm, Count Piper
refufed to grant his exhibition, as being
_ contrary to the ftatutes of the univerfity and
without any precedent, that one perfon
fhould enjoy two exhibitions. The prefent
king of Sweden being then prince royal,
fucceffor to the throne, and chancellor of
the univerfity, wrote to the convocation, and
exprefied his wifhes to have from the trea-
fury of the univerfity for fo ufeful a purpofe,
about 1000 plates, or about 150]. fterling.
The, univerfity complied generoufly with
the defire of her chancellor, and gave or-
ders that the money fhould be paid to the
Royal Academy. The board for promoting
manufactures gave 300 plates, or about
45l.. Mr. Kal/m fpent in this journey. his
falary, and befides very near 130]. of his
own fortune, fo that at his return he found
a 4. himfelf

vill PERO EX FU AD CH E;

himfelf obliged to live upon a very fmall
pittance. The reft of the expences the
Academy made up from her own fund.
We on purpofe have given this detail
from Mt. Ka/m’s long preface, to fhew the
reader with what public fpirit this journey
has been fupported in a country where mo-
ney is fo fcarce, and what a patriotic and
laudable ardor for the promotion of {ciences
in general, and efpecially of natural hiftory
and hufbandry animates the univerfities, the
public boards, and even the private perfons,
in this cold climate, which goes fo far,
that they chufe rather to fpend their own _
private fortunes, than to give up fo benefi-
cial and ufeful a fcheme. We have the
fame inftance in Dr. Haffelgui?, who with
a fickly and confumptive conftitution, went
to Afa Minor, Egypt and Paleftine, and
colle&ed fuch great riches in new plants
and animals, that Dr. Linzeus’s fyftem
would never have contained fo many
fpecies, had he not made ufe of thefe trea-
fures, which the queen of Sweden generouf-
ly bought by paying the debts of Dr. Haffel-
quift, who died in his attempt to promote
natural hiftory. The Reverend Mr. Ofbeck
in his voyage to C4ima, made an infinite
number of ufeful and interefting obfervati-
ons at the expence of his whole falary, and

publifhed

{ee Os Ply AY) Cl Et ix

publithed them by the contributions of
his parifh. The Reverend Mr. Toreen
died by the fatigues of the fame voyage,
and left his letters publifhed along with
Ofbeck, as a monument of his fine genius,
and: fpirit. for promoting natural hiftory.
We here look upon the expences as tri-
fling, but they are not fo in Sweden, and
therefore are certainly the beft monuments
to the honour of the nation and the great
Linneus, who in refpect to natural hiftory
is the primum mobile of that country.
Proressor Kalm having obtained leave
of his Majefty to be abfent from his potft as
profeffor, and having got a pafiport, and
recommendations to the feveral Swedz/h mi-
nifters at the courts of Loudon, Paris, Ma-
drid, and at the Hague, in order to obtain
paffports for him in their refpedctive ftates,
fet out from Upfala, the 16th. of Odfober
1747, accompanied by Lars Yungfirem, a
gardener well fkilled in the knowledge of
plants and mechanics, and who had at the
{ame time a good hand for dr-wing, whom
he took into his fervice. He then fet fail
from Gothenburgh, the 11th. of December but
a violent hurricane obliged the fhip he was
in to take fhelter in the harbour of Grem-
fiad in Norway, from which place he made
excurfions to Arendal and Chriftianfand. He
. went

te PRR OR Pr Anon

went again to fea February the 8th. 1748,
and arrived at London the 17th. of the fame
month. He ftaidin England till Auguft 15th.
in} which interval of time he made excur-
fions to Woodford in Effex, to little Gaddefden
in Hertford{bire, where Wiliam Els, a man
celebrated for his publications in hufbandry
lived, but whofe practical hufbandry Mr.
Kalm found not to be equal to the theory
- Jaid down in his writings; he likewife faw
Ivinghoe in Buckinghamfhire, Eaton and fe-
veral other places, and all the curiofities and
gardens in and about London: at laft he
went on board a fhip, and traverfed the
ocean to Philadelphia in Penfylvania, which
was formerly called New Sweden, where he
arrived September the 26th. The reft of
that year he employed in collecting feeds of —
trees and plants,-and fending them up to
Sweden; and in feveral excurfions in the en-
virons of Philadelphia. The winter he
pafled among his countrymen at Raccoon in
New “ferfey. The next year 1749, Mr,
Kalm went through New ‘ferfey and New
York along the river Hudjfon to Albany, and
from thence, after having croffed the lakes of
St. George and Champlain, to Montreal and
Quebec, he returned that very year againtt
winter to Philadelphia, and {ent a new cargo
of feeds, plants and curiofitics to Sweden, o

the

| PERI BM Fe! AN COVEL xi

the year 1750, Mr. Kal/m faw the weftern
parts of Penfylvamia and the coaft of New
Serfey ; Yung firem ftaid in the former pro-
vince all the fummer for the collection of
feeds, and Prof. Ka/m in the mean time
_ paffed New York and the blue mountains,

went to “/bany, then along the river Mo-
hawk to the Iroguois nations, where he got
acquainted with the Mobawk's, Oneida’s,
Tufkarora s, Onandaga’s and Kayugaw’s. He»
then viewed and navigated the great lake
Ontario, and {aw the celebrated fall at Nrza-
gara. In his return from his fummer ex-
pedition, he crofied the blue mountains in
adifferent place, and in Odfober again reach-
ed Philadelphia.

In the year 1751, the 13th. of February,
he went at Newcaftle on board a fhip for
England, and after a paflage fubje@ to many
dangers in the moft dreadful hurnicanes, he
arrived March the 27th. in the Thames, and
two days after in London. He took paffage
for Gothenburgh May the sth. and was the
16th. of the fame month at the place of his
deftination, and the 13th. of ‘fune he again
arrived at Stockbolm, after having been on
this truly ufeful expedition three years and
eight months. -He afterwards returned
again to his place of profeffor at 4060, where
in a {mall garden of his own, he cultivates
' many

i VR Reo Poa oe

many hundreds of American plants, as there
is not yet a public botanical garden for the |
ufe of the univerfity, and he with great ex-
pectation withes to fee what plants will bear
the climate, and bear good and ripe feeds fo |
far north. He publifhed the account of his
journey by intervals, for want of encou-
ragement, and fearing the expences of pub-
lifhing at orce in a country where few
bookfellers are found, and where the author
muft very often embrace the bufinefs .of
bookfeller, in order to reimburfe himfelf
for the expences of his publication. He
ublithed in his firft volume obfervations on
England, and chiefly on its hufbandry, where
he with the moft minute {crupulou{nefs and
detail, entered into the very minutiz of this
branch of his bufinefs for the benefit of his
countrymen, and this fubject he continued
at the beginning of the fecond volume. A
paflage crofs the ¢t/antic ocean is a new
_ thing to Swedes, who are little ufed to it,
unlefs they go in the few Eaf India hips
of their country. Every thing therefore
was new to Mr. Ka/m, and he omitted no
circumftance unobferved which are repeated
in all the navigators from the earlier times
down to our own age. It would be a kind
of injuftice to the public, to give all this at
large to the reader. All that part deferibing
England

mee, FE A OL Ri lx

England and its curiofities and hufbandry we
omitted. The particulars of the pafiage
from England to Penfylvania we abridged ;
no circumftance interefting to natural hifto-
ry or to any other part of literature has
been omitted. And from his arrival at
Philadelphia, we give the original at large,

- except where we omitted fome trifling cir-
cumftances, viz. the way of eating oytters,
the art of making apple dumplings, and
fome more of the fame nature, which ftruck
that Swedi/b gentleman with their novelty.

Mr. Kalm makes ufe of the Swedi/h mea-

fure; its foot is to the Engli/h foot, as 1134
to 1350. For his meteorological obferva-
tions, he employed the thermometer of
Prof. Celfius generally made ule of in Swe-
den, and his was of Cel/jus’s own making ;

the interval from the point of freezing to

the point of boiling water, is equally divi-
ded in this thermometer into 100 parts. In
the names of plants, we have chiefly em-
ployed after his directions the Linnean
names in the laft edition of his Spec. Plan-
tarum, and Syftema Nature, Vol. 2. But
as his defcriptions of animals, plants, and
minerals are very fhort, he promifes to give
them at large fome time hence in a Latin
work. He excufes the negligence of his
ftile, from the time in which he methodi-

| fed

xix Pi RJ BS FP) Ad Ct ER eee
fed his obfervations, which was commonly ©
at night, after being fatigued with the bu-
finefs of the preceding day, when his {pi-
rits were almoft exhaufted, and he, incapa-
ble of that fprightlinefs which commends
fo many curious performances. of that nature.

He gives you his obfervations as they oc-
curred day after day, which makes him a
faithful relater, notwithftanding it takes
away all elegance of ftyle, and often oceafions
him to make very fudden tranfitions from
{ubjects. very foreign to one another. ‘This
defect we will endeavour to fupply by a very
copious index at the end of the whole work,
rather than derange the author’s words,
which are the more to be relied on, as be-
ing inftantly committed to paper warm from
his reflections.

Avr laft he arms himfelf with a very
noble indifference again{ft the criticifm of
feveral people, founded on the great aim he
had in view by his performance, which
was no lefs than publhe utility. This he looks
upon as the true reward of his rei and
expences.

TuHEsE are the contents of hie long pre-
face. We have nothing to add, but that .
we intend to go on in this work as foon as
poflible, hoping to be fupported and en-
ne pug in this undertaking, by a nation

which

26) BEY AL CA BS on

which is the poffeflor of that great conti-

“nent, a great part of which is here accu-
x rately and impartially defcribed, efpecially
at this time when American affairs attract
the attention of the public.

WE intend to join for the better illuftra-
tion of the work, a map and drawings of
American birds and animals which were not
in the original. They will be copied from
original drawings and real birds and ani-
mals from North America, which we have.
accefs to, and muft therefore give to this
tranflation a fuperiority above “the original
and the German tranflation.

An encourager of this work propofed it
aS an improvement to the tranflation of
Kalm’s travels, to add in the margin the
paging of the original, as by this means
recourfe would be had eafily to the quotati-
ons made by Dr. Linnaeus. We would
very readily have complied with this de/ide-
ratum, had we had the Swedi/h edition of
this work at hand, or had the work not
been too far advanced at the time we got
this kind hint: however this will be
remedied by a copious index, which will
certainly appear at the end of the whole
work.

As we have not yet been able to procure
a compleat lift of the fubfcribers and encou~

ragers

xvi. Po R2SEARPa AD Ci

ragers of this undertaking, we choofe rather
to poftpone it, than to give an imperfect
one: at the fame time we aflure the public,
that it fhall certainly appear in one of the
fubfequent volumes.

We find it neceffary here to mention,
that as many articles in Mr. Ka/m’s travels
required illuftrations, the publifher has taken
the liberty to join here and there fome notes,
which are marked at the end with F.. The
other notes not thus marked were kindly
communicated by the publifher’s friends.

LasTLy, we take this opportunity to
return our moft fincere thanks in this pub-
lic manner to the ladies and gentlemen,
who have generoufly in various ways exert-
ed themfelves in promoting the publication
of thefe ufeful remarks of an impartial, ac-
curate and judicious foreigner, on a country
which is at prefent fo much the object of
public deliberation and private converfation.

PETER

Pale Tage K (ASL Ms
odie bdhk xo <3 Bie abg-obs

Auguft the sth. 1748.

WITH my fervant Lars Yung fram
| (who joined to his abilities as garden-

er, a tolerable {kill in mechanics and
drawing) went at Gravefend on board
the Mary Gally, Captain Law/on, bound for
Philadelphia; and though it was fo late as
fix o'clock in the afternoon, we weighed
anchor and failed a good way down the
Thames before we again came to anchor.
Auguf the 6th. Very early in the
morning we refumed our voyage, and after
a few hours failing we came to the mouth
of the Dhames, where we turned into the
channel and failed along the Kentz/h coat,
which confifts of (et and almoft perpen-
dicular

2 Auguft 1748.

dicular chalk hills, covered at the top with
fome foil and a fine verdure, and including
{trata of flints, as it frequently is foundin this
kind of*chalk-hills in the reft of England.
And we were delighted in viewing on them
excellent corn fields, covered for the greateft
part. with wheat, then ripening.

AT fix o’clock at night, we arrived at
Deal, a little well known town, fituate at
the entrance of a bay expofed to the fouth-
ern and eafterly winds. Here commonly
the outward bound fhips provide themfelves.
with greens, frefh victuals, brandy, and
many more articles. This trade, a fifhery,
and in the laft war the equipping of priva-
teers, has enriched the inhabitants.

Auguf the 7th. Wuen the tide was
out, I faw numbers of fifhermen reforting
to the fandy fhallow places, where they
find round fmall eminences caufed by the
excrements of the og worms, or fea worms,
(Lumbrict marini. Linn.) who live in the
holes leading to thefe hillocks, fometimes
eighteen inches deep, and they are then
dug out with a {mall three tacked iron fork
and ufed as baits. ,

Auguf the 8th. AT three salah we
tided down the channel, pafied Dover, and
faw plainly the opinion of the celebrated
Camden in his Britannia confirmed,

here

The Channel. be

here England had been formerly joined to
France and Flanders by an ifthmus. Both
fhores form here two oppofite points; and
both are formed of the fame chalk hills,
which have the fame configuration, fo that a
perfon acquainted with the Exgij/b coatts
and approaching thofe of Picardy afterwards,
without knowing them to be fuch, would
certainly take them to be the Eng/i/h ones.*
Auguft the 9th—12th. We tided and
alternately failed down the channel, and
pafled Dungnefs, Fairhght, the Ifle of Wight,
Port/mouth, the Peninfula of Portland and
Bolthead,+a point behind which Plymouth
hes; during all which time we had very
little wind.

Auguf the 13th. Towarps night we
got out of the Exg/b channel into the Bay
‘of Bifcay. ,
~ Auguft the 14th. We had contrary wind,
and this increafed the rolling of the fhip,
for it is generally remarked that the Bay of
Bifcay has the ereateft and broadeft waves,
which are of equal fize with thofe between
America and Europe; they are commonly
half an Exgh/b mile in length, and have a
height proportionable to it. The Baltic

es A 2 and

_* The fame opinion has been confirmed by Mr. Baffon in
his Hift. Naturelle. tom. 1. art. xix. Vol, 2. p. 419 of the
edit, in twelves. F.

4 Auguft 1748.

and the German ocean has on the contrary
fhort and broken waves.

Wuenever an animal is killed on board
the fhip, the failors commonly hang fome
freth pieces of meat for a while into the
fea, and it is faid, it then keeps better.

Auguf the 15th. THe fame fwell of the
fea (till continued, but the waves began to
fmooth, and a foam fwimming on them
was faid to forebode in calm weather, a
continuance of the fame for fome days.

AsouT noon a north eafterly breeze
fprung up, and in the afternoon it blew
more, and this gave us a fine fpectacle; for
the great waves rolled the water in great
fests: in one direction, and the north eaft-
erly wind curled the furface of thefe waves
quite in another. By the beating and dafh-
ing of the waves againft one another, with a
more than ordinary violence, we could fee
that we pafled a current, whofe direction
the captain could not determine.

Auguf the 16th—2ift. Tue fame fa-
vourable breeze continued to our great com-
fort and amazement, for the captain ob-
ferved that it was very uncommon to meet
with an eafterly or north-eafterly wind be-
tween Europe and the Azores (which the
failors call the Weftern Iflands) for more
than two days together; for the more com-

mon

Sea between Europe and America 5

mon wind is here a wefterly one: but be-
yond the Azores they find a great variety of
winds, efpecially about this time of the
year; nor do the wefterly winds continue
long beyond thefe ifles; and to this it is
owing, that when navigators have pafled
the Azores, they think they have perform-
ed one half of the voyage, although in rea-
lity it be but one third part. Thefe ifles
come feldom in fight; for the navigators
keep off them, on account of the dangerous
rocks under water furrounding them. Up-
on obfervation and comparifon of the jour-
nal, we found that we were in forty-three
deg. twenty-four min. north lat. and thirty
and a half degrees weft long. from London.
Augufi the 22d. AxsouT noon the cap-
tain aflured us, that in twenty-four hours
we fhould have a fouth-weft wind: and
upon my enquiring into the reafons of his
foretelling this with certainty, he pointed
at fome clouds in the fouth-weft, whofe
points turned towards north-eaft, and faid
they were occafioned by a wind from the
oppofite quarter. At this time I was told

we were about half way to Penfylvania.
Auguft the 23d. “Asour feven o’clock
in the morning the expected fouth-weft
wind fprung up, and foon accelerated our
A 3 courfe

Oo Auguft 1748.

courfe fo much, that we went at the rate
of eight knots an hour.

Auguft the 24th. Tue wind fhifted and
was in our teeth. We were told by fome
of the crew to expect a little ftorm, the
higher clouds being very thin and ftriped
and fcattered about the fky like parcels of
combed wool, or fo many fkains of yarn,
which they faid forebode a ftorm. Thefe
ftriped clouds ran north-weft and fouth-
eaft, in the direction of the wind we then
had. ‘Towards night the wind abated and
we had a perfect calm, which is a fign of
a change of wind.

Auguf the 25th. and 26th. A WEST
wind fprung up and grew ftronger and
ftronger, fo that at laft the waves wafhed
our deck.

Ayguf the 27th. In the morning we
got a better wind, which went through va-
rious points of the compafs and brought on
a {torm from north-eaft towards night.

Our captain told mean obfervation found-
ed on long experience, viz. that though
the winds changed frequently in the A¢lantic
ocean, efpecially in fummer time, the moft |
frequent: however was the weftern, and
this accounts for the paflage from me-
rica to Europe commonly being red

tnan

Sea between Europe and America. 4

than that from Europe to America. ~Befides
this, the winds in the ¢/antic. during
fummer are frequently partial, fo. that a
ftorm may rage on one part:.of it,, and
within a few miles of. the place. little
or no ftorm at all may be felt... In winter
the winds are more conftant, extenfive and
violent; fo that then the fame wind reigns
on the greater part of the ocean for a good
while, and caufes greater waves than in
fummer. — 7
Auguft the 30th. As I had obferved the
night before fome ftrong flathes of lighten-
ing without any fubfequent clap of thunder,
I enquired of our captain, whether he could
affign any reafons for it. He told me thefe
phenomena were pretty common, and the
confequence of a preceding heat in the at-
mofphere; but that when lightenings were
obferved in winter, prudent navigators were
ufed to reef their fails, as they are by this
fign certain of an impendent ftorm; and fo
likewife in that feafon, a cloud rifing from
the north-weft, is an infallible forerunner
of a great tempett. |
September the 7th. As wehad the firft day
of the month contrary wind, on the fecond
it fhifted.to the north, was again contrary the
third, and. fair the fourth and following
days. The fifth we were in forty deg.
| A 4 three

ee September 1748.

three min. ‘north lat. and between fif-
ty-three and fifty-four deg. weit long.
from London.

Besipes the common waves rolling with
the wind, we met on,the 4th. and sth.
inft. with waves coming from fouth-weft,
which the captain gave as a mark of a
former ftorm from that quarter in this
neighbourhood.

September the. 8th. We croffed ree a
moderate wind, a fea with the higheft
waves we met on the whole paflage, attri-
buted by the captain to the divifion between
the great ocean and the inner American gulf;
and foon after we met with waves greatly
inferior to thofe we. obferved before.

September the gth. In the afternoon we
remarked that in fome places the colour of
the fea (which had been hitherto of a deep
blue) was changed into a paler hue; fome of
thefe {pots were narrow ftripes of twelve or
fourteen fathoms breadth, of a pale green
colour, which is fuppofed to be caufed by
the fand, or as fome fay, by the weeds un-
der water.

September the 12th. We were Inbesshiod
that day, and as we in this fituation ob-
ferved a thip, which we fufpetted to bea
Spanih privateer, our fear was very great ;
but we faw fome days after our arrival at

Philadel-

Ocean between Europe and America. 9

Philadelphia the fame fhip arrive, and heard
that they feeing us had been under the fame
apprehenfions with ourfelves.

September the 13th. Caprain Law/on,
who kept his bed for the greater part of
the voyage, on account of an indifpofition,
affured us yefterday we were in all appear-
ance very near America: but as the mate
was of a different opinion, and as the failors
could fee no land from the head of the maft,
nor find ground by the lead, we fteered on
dire&tly towards the land. About three
o’clock in the morning the captain gave or-~
ders to heave the lead, and we found but ten
fathom: the fecond mate himfelf took the
lead and called out ten and fourteen fathoms,
but 2a moment after the fhip ftruck on the
fand, and this fhock was followed by four
other very violent ones. The confternation
was incredible; and very juftly might it be
fo; for there were above eighty perfons on
board, and the fhip had but one‘boat: but
happily our thip got off again, after having
been turned. At day break, which fol-
lowed foon after (for the accident happened
half an hour paft four) we faw the conti-
nent of America within a Swedi/fh mile be-
fore us: the coaft was whitith, low, and
higher up covered with firs. We found
out, that the fand we ftruck on, lay oppo-

fite

10° . The Bay of Delaware.

fite Arcadia in Maryland, in thirtyafiiog
deg... fifty min. North lat.

We coafted the fhores of Maryland all
the-day, but not being able to reach cape
Hinlopen, where we intended to take a pi-
lot onboard, we cruized all. night before
the. bay of Delaware.. The darknefs of the
night-made us expect.a rain, but we found
that only a copious fall of dew enfued,
which made our coats quite wet, and the
pages.of a book, accidently left. open on
the deck, were.in half an hours time. after
fun-fetting likewife wet, and we were told
by the captain and the failors that both in
England and in America a copious dew. was
commonly followed by a hot and fultry
day.

September the 14th. We faw. land on
our larboard in the weft, which. appeared
to be low, white, fandy, and higher up the
country covered with firs. cape Hinlopen
is.a head of land running into the fea from
the weftern fhore, and has a village on. it.
The eaftern fhore belongs here to New er-
fey, and. the weftern to Pen/ylvania. The
bay of Delaware has many fands, and from
four to eleven fathom water.

. Tue fine woods of oak, hiccory and firs
covering both fhores madea fine, appear-

ance, and were partly, employed in fhip-
building

River Delaware. gt

building at Philadelphia; for which purpofe
every year fome Enghjbh captains take a -
paflage in autumn to this town, and fuper-
intend the building of new fhips during
winter, with which they go to fea next
{pring : and at this time it was more ufual
than common, as the French and Spanifh
privateers had taken many Engl/b merchan
fhips. 5

A LITTLE after noon we reached the
mouth of Delaware river, which is’ here
about three Exgl/h miles broad, but de-
creafes gradually fo much, that it is {carcely
a mile broad at Philadelphia.

Here wewere delighted in feeingnow and
then between the woods fome farm houfes
furrounded with corn fields, paftures well-
ftocked with cattle, and meadows covered
with fine hay; and more than one fenfe
was agreeably affected, when the wind
brought to’us the fineft effluvia of odorife-
rous plants and flowers, or that of the frefh
made hay: thefe agreeable fenfations and
the fine {cenery of nature on this continent,
fo new to us, continued till it grew quite
dark. |

Here I will return to fea, and give the
reader a fhort view of the various occur-
rences belonging to Natural-Hiftory, during
our crofling the Ocean.

Or

12 Ocean between Europe and America.

Or fea weeds (Fucus linn.) we faw Au-
guft the 16th. and r7th. a kind which had
a fimilarity to a bunch of onions tied toge-
ther, thefe bunches were of the fize of the
fift, and of a white colour. Near the coatt
of America within the American gulf, Sep-
tember the 11th. we met likewife with fe-
veral fea weeds, one fpecies of which was
called by the failors rock-weed; another
kind looked like a {tring of pearls, and ano-
ther was white, about a foot long, narrow,
every where equally wide and quite ftrait.
From <Auguft the 24th. to September the |
11th. we faw no other. weeds, but thofe
commonly going under'the name of Gu/f-
weed, becaufe they are fuppofed to come
from the gulf of Florida; others’ call it
Sargazo, and Dr. Linueus, Fucus natans.
Its fale is very flender, rotundato-angulated,
and of a dark green, it has many ranches
and each of them: has numerous /eaves dif-
pofed in a row, they are extremely thin,
are ferrated, and are a line or a line and a
half wide, fo that they bear a great refem-
blance to the leaves of Iceland-mofs; their
colour is a yellowifh green. Its fruzt in a
great meafure refembles unripe juniper
berries, is round, greenifh yellow, almot
fmooth on the outfide, and grows under the
leaves on fhort footftalks, of two or three

} lines

Ocean between Europe and America. 13

lines length; under each leaf are from one
to three berries, but I never have feen them
exceed that number. Some-berries were
fmall, and when cut were quite hollow and
confifted of a thin peel only, which is cal-
culated to communicate. their buoyancy to
the whole plant. ‘The leaves grow in pro-
portion narrower, as they approach the ex-
tremities of the branches: their upper fides
are {mooth, the ribs are on the under fides,
and there likewife appear fmall roots of
two, three or four lineslength. I was told
by our mate that gulf weed, driedand pound-
ed, was given in America to women in
childbed, and befides this it is alfo ufed.
there in fevers. The whole ocean is as if
it were covered with this weed, and it mutt
alfo be in immenfe quantities in the gulf of
Florida, from whence all this driving on
the ocean is faid to come. Several little
Jeelis pointed like horns, and E/chare or
Horn wracks.are frequently found on it: and
{eldom is there one bundle of this. plant to
be met with, which does not contain either
a minute /brimp, or a {mall crad, the latter
of which is.the Cancer minutus of Dr. Lin-
neus. Of thefe I collected eight, and of
the former three, all which I put in a glafs
with water: the little fhrimp moved as
{wift as an arrow round the glafs, but fome-

| times

14. Ocean between Europe and America.

times its motion was flow, and fometimes it
ftood ftill‘on one fide, or at the bottom of
the glafs. If one-of the little crabs ap-
roached, it was feized by its forepaws,
killed and fucked ; for which reafon they
were careful to avoid their fate. It was
quite of the fhape of a fhrimp; in {wim-
ming it moved always on one fide, the fides
and the tail moving alternately. It was ca-
pable of putting its forepaws entirely into
its mouth: its antenne were in continual
motion. Having left thefe little fhrimps
together with the crabs during night, I
found on the morning all the crabs killed
and eaten by the fhrimps. The former
moved when alive with incredible fwiftnefs
in the water. Sometimes when they were
quite at the bottom of the glafs, with a
motion fomething like to that of a Puceron
or Podura of Linngus; they came in a mo-
ment to the furface of the water. In fwim-
ming they moved all their feet very clofe,
fometimes they held them down as other
crabs do, fometimes they lay on their backs,
but as foon as the motion of their feet ceafed,
they always funk to the bottom. | The re-
maining fhrimpsI prefervedi in ‘fpirits, and the |
lofs of my little crabs was foon repaired by
other fpecimens which are fo plentiful in
each of the floating bundles of gulf-weed.
For

Ocean between Europeand America. 15

For a more minute defcription of which I
muft refer the reader to another work, I
intend to publifh. , In fome places we faw
a crab of the fize of the fift,, {wimming by
the continual motion of its feet, which be-
ing at reft, the animal, began immediately
to fink... And.one time I met with a great
red craw/fifh,or Ldfer, floating on the furface
GENER S <4) iss 964 3)

. Bruspers,. or Medufe Linn, we found of
three kinds: the firft is the Medu/z aurita
Linn ; it is round, purple coloured, opens
like a bag, and in it are as if it were, four
white rings, their fize varies from one inch
diameter to fix inches; they have nor that
netthng and burning quality which other
blubbers have, fuch for inftance as are on
the. coaft of Norway, and in theocean. Thefe
we met chieflyin the channel and in the
Bay of Bifcay.

_ArveR having croffed more than half of
the ocean between Europe. and America, we
met with a. kind of blubber, which is known
to, Sailors by the name of the Spani/h or
Portugueze man of War, it looks likea great
bladder, or the lungs of a quadruped, com-
preffed on both fides, about fix inches in
diameter,. of a fine purple-red colour, and
when touched by the naked fkin of the
human body, it caufes a greater burning than

any

16 Ocean between Europe and America.

any other kind of blubber. They are often
overturned by the rolling of the waves, but
they are again ftanding up in an inftant, and
keep the fharp or narrow fide uppermoft.

WITHIN the American gulf we faw not

only thefe Spani/h men of War, but another
kind too, for which the Sailors had no other
name but that of a blubber. It was of the
fize of a pewter plate, brown in the middle,
with a pale margin, which was in continual
motion.
- Or the Lepas anatifera Eile. I faw
on the 3oth. of dugufi a log of wood,
which floated on the ocean, quite covered.
Of infects I {aw in the channel, when we were
in fight of the [le of Wight feveral white
butterflies, very like to the Papilio Brafice
Linn. They never fettled, and by their ven-
turing at fo great a diftance from land’ they
caufed us juft aftonifhment.

SOME common flies were in our cabbin alive
during the whole voyage, and it cannot
therefore be determined whether they were
originally in America, or whether they came
over with the Europeans.

Or Cetaceous fib we met with Porpeffes,
or as fome failors call them Sea-hogs* ( Del-

phinus

* The name of Porpefe is certainly derived from the our
orces=

;
f
»
>
‘
}

Ocean between Europe and America. 17

phinus Phocena, Linn.) firft in the channel
and then they continued every where on this.
fide the Azores, where they are the only fith
navigators meet with; but beyond thefe ifles
they are feldom feen, till again in the
neighbourhood of America we faw them
equally frequent to the very mouth of De-
laware river. They always appeared in
fhoals, fome of which confifted-of upwards
of an hundred individuals ; their fwimming
was very fwift, and though they often
fwam along fide .of our fhip, being ta-
ken as it were with the noife caufed by the
fhip cutting the waves, they however foon
outwent her, when they were tired with
ftaring at her. They are from four to eight
feet long, have a bill like in fhape to that
of a goofe, a white belly, and leap up into
the air frequently four feet high, and from
four to eight feet in length; though their
{noring indicates the effort which a leap of

Porcopefce, given to, this genus by the Italians; and it is re-
markable that almoft all the European nations confpired in
calling them Sea-hogs, their name being in German Meer
Schwein; the Danifh, Swedifb, and Norvegian, Marfuin, from
whence the French borrowed their Marfouin. The natives of
Iceland call them Suinhual, i, e. a Swwine-whale, and fo like-
wife the Slavonian nations have their Swinia Morfkaya. Whe-
ther this confent arifes from their rooting the fand at the bot-
tom of the fea in queft of Sand-eels and Sea-worms like
fwine, or from the vaft quantity of lard furrounding their
‘bodies is uncertain. F.

B that

18 Ocean between Europe and America.

that nature cofts them. Our failors made
many vain attempts to ftrike one of them
with. the harp iron from the forecaftle,
when they came within reach, but their
velocity always eluded their {kill.

ANOTHER cetaceous fifh, of the Dolphin
kind,* with which we met, is called by the
failors Bottle-nofe, it {wims in great fhoals,
has a head like a bottle, and is killed by a
harpoon, and is fometimes eaten.. Thefe
fifh are very large, and fome fully twelve
feet long; their fhape, and manner of
tumbling and fwimming make them
nearly related to Porpeffes. They are to be
met with every where in the ocean from
the channel to the very neigpeebeneod of.
America.

One Whale we faw at a diftance, and
knew it by the water which it fpouted up.

A Dog-fifh of a confiderable fize followed
the fhip for a little while, but it was foon
out of fight, without our being able to
determine to which {pecies it belonged :

this

* Mr. Kalm is certainly miftaken in reckoning the Bottle-
nofe amongtt the Dolphin kind; it has no teeth in its mouth
as all the fith of that cla{s have, and therefore belongs to the
firft order of the Whales, or thofe that are Sues teeth. See
Mr. Pennant’s Britifh Zoology Vol. 3. p. 43. where it is
called the beaked Whale, and very sail defcribed;. a
drawing is feen in the explanatory table, n. I. _— it
would not be improper to call it Balena ampullata, F.

Ocean between Europe and America. 19

this was the only cartilaginous fith we faw
on the whole paflage. |
’ Or the dony fifh, we faw feveral beyond
the Azores, but never one on this fide of
thofe ifles, one of them was of a large fize,
and we faw it at a diftance; the failors
called it an Albecor, and itis Dr. Linneus’s
Scomber Thynnus.
Tue Dolphin of the Enghjh is the
Dorado of the Portugueze, and Dr. Linnaeus
calls it Coryphena Hippuris; it is about
two feet anda half long, near the head
fix inches deep, and three inches broad ;
from the head the Do/phin decreafes on
all fides towards the tail, where its per-
pendicular depth is one inch anda half, and
its breadth hardly one inch. The colour
of the back near the head is a fine green
ona filver ground, but near the tail of
a deep blue; the belly is white, and
fometimes mixed with a deep yellow,
on the fides it has fome round pale brown
{pets. It has fix and not feven fins as was
imagined ; two of them are on the breaft,.
two on the belly, one at the tail extending
to the anus, and one along the whole back,
which is of a fine blue: when the fith is
juft taken the extremities of the moft out-
ward rays in the tail were eight inches one
from another. Their motion when they
io 2 {wam

20 Ocean between Europe and America.

fwam behind, or along fide of the fhip was.
very flow, and gave a fair opportunity to
hit them with the harpoon, though fome
are taken with a hook and line, and a bait
of: chicken bowels, {mall fith, or pieces
of his own fpecies, or the flying fith, which
latter are their chief food: and it is by
their chafing them, that the flying fith leave
their element to find fhelter in one to which
they are ftrangers. The Dolphins fome-
times leap a fathom out of the water, and
love to fwim about cafks and logs of wood,
that fometimes drive in the fea. They are
eaten with thick butter, when boiled, and
fometimes fried, and afford a palatable food,
but rather fomewhat dry. In the bellies of
the fith of this {pecies which we caught, fe-
veral animals were found, viz. an Offracion;
alittle fifh with blue eyes, which was yet
alive, being juft the moment before fwal-
lowed, and meafuring two inches in length ;
another little fifh; a curious marine infe@,
and a flying fifh, all which not yet being
damaged by digeftion, 1 preferved in fpirits.
THE Flying Fifb ( Exocoetus volttans, Linn. )
are always feen in great fhoals, fometimes
of an hundred or more getting at once out
of the water, being purfued by greater fith,
and chiefly by Dolphins; they rife about a
yard, and even a fathom above the water
in

Ocean between Europe and Amerita. 21

in their flight, but thislatter height they only
are at, when they take their flight from
the top of a wave; and fometimes it 1s faid
they fall on the deck of fhips.. The
greateft diftance they fly, 1s a good mufket-
fhot, and this they perform in lefs than
half a minute’s time; their motion is fome+
what like that of the yellow-hammer, (Em-
beriza Citrinella, Linn.) \t is very remark-
able that I found the courfe they took al-
ways to be again{ft the wind, and though
I was contradicted by the failors, who af-
firmed that they went at any direction, I
neverthelefs wasconfirmed in my opinion by
a careful obfervation during the whole voy-
age, according to which they fly conftantly
either directly againft the wind, or fome-
what in an oblique direction.*

We faw likewife the fith called Bonetos,
(Scomber Pelamys, Linn.) they were likewife
in fhoals, hunting fome fmaller fith, which
chafe caufed a noife like to that of a caf-
cade, becaufe they were all {wimming clofe
in a body; but they always kept out of the
reach of our harpoons.

| B 3. Or

* In Mr. Pennant’s Britifh Zoology vol. 3. p. 282. is the
beit account of this fifth to be met with; and in his Britifh
Zoology, illufirated by Plates and brief explanations is plate
xliv. a good and exa& drawing of the fifh, the upper figure
reprefenting it in front, the lower fideways. F.

22 Ocean between Europe and America.

Or amphibious animals, or reptiles; we met
twice with a Turtle, one of which. was
fleeping, the other {wam without taking
notice of our fhip; both were of two feet
diameter.

Birps are pretty frequently feen on the
ocean, though Aguatic Birds are more com-
mon than Land Birds.

Tue Petrel ( Procellaria Palaaiea, Linn. )
was our companion from the channel to the
- fhores of America. Flocks of this bird were
always about our fhip, chiefly in that part
of the fea, which being cut by the fhip,
forms a f{mooth furface, where they fre-
quently feem to fettle, though always on
_the wing. They pick up or examine every
thing that falls accidentally, from the fhip,

or is thrown over board: little fifth feem to ~

be their chief food ; in day. time they are
filent, in the dark clamorous; they are re-
puted to forebode a ftorm, for which rea-
fon the failors difliking their company,
complimented them with the name of
- witches; but they are as frequent in fair
weather, without a ftorm following their
appearance. ‘To me it appeared as if they
fiayed fometimes half an hour and longer
under the waves, and the failors aflured me
they did. They look like fwallows, and
like them they fkim fometimes on the
water. “THE |

Ocean between Europe and America. 23

Tue Shearwater (Procellaria Puffinus,
Linn.) is another fea-bird, which we faw
every where on our voyage, from the chan-
nel to the American coafts; it has much-the
appearance and fize of the dark-grey \Sea-
gull, or of a Duck; it has a brown back,
and commonly a white ring round its neck,
and a peculiar flow way of flying. We
plainly faw fome of thefe birds feed on fith.
~ Tue Tropic bird ( Phaéton ethereus, Linn.)
has very much the fhape of a gull, but two
very long feathers, which it has in its. tail,
diftinguith it enough from any other bird ;
its flight is often exceedingly high: the
firft of this kind we met, was at about for-
ty deg. north lat. and forty-nine or fifty deg.
weft long. from London.

Common Gulls (Larus canus, Linn.) we
faw, when we were oppofite the Lana's
End, the moft wefterly cape of England,
and when according to our reckoning we

were oppofite Ireland.

Terns (Sterna hirundo, Linn.) though
of a fomewhat darker colour than the com-
mon ones, we found after the forty-firft
eg. of north lat. and forty-feventh deg.
weft long. from London, very plentifully,
and fometimes in flocks of fome hundreds ;
fometimes they fettled, as if tired, on our
fhip.

Bs WITH-

24 Ocean between Europe and America,

WITHIN the American gulph we difcover-
ed a fea-bird ata little diftance from the
fhip, which the failors calleda Sea-hen.

LAND~BIRDS are now and then feen at
fea, and fometimes at a good diftance from
any land, fo that it is often difficult, to
account for their appearance in fo uncom-
mon a place. uguji the 18th. we faw a
bird which fetled on our fhip, and was per-
fectly like the great Titmoufe, ( Parus major
Linn: ) upon an attempt to catch it, it got
behind the fails, and could never be caught.

September the 1ft. We obferved fome
Land-birds flying about our fhip, which
we took for Sand Martins ( Hirundo riparia
Linn.) fometimes they fettled on our fhip,
or on the fails; they were of a greyith
brown colour on their back, their breaft
white, and the tail fomewhat furcated; a
heavy flower of rain drove them afterwards
away. September the 2d.a Swallow flut-
tered about the fhip, and fometimes it fet-
tled on the maft; it feemed to be very
tired ; feveral times it approached our cabin
witidees: as if it was willing to take fhelter
there. Thefe cafes happened about forty
deg. north lat. and between forty-feven and
forty-nine deg. weft long. from London,
and alfo about. twenty deg. long. or

more

Ocean between Europe and America. 25

more than nine hundred and twenty fea
miles from any land whatfoever.

September the 1oth. within the American
gulph:a large bird, which we took for an
Ow/, and likewife a little bird fettled on
our fails. |

September the 12th. a Wood-pecker fettled
on our rigging: its back was of a {peckled
grey, and it feemed extremely fatigued.
And another land-bird of the pafferine clafs,
endeavoured to take fhelter and reft on our
fhip.

Debeciie I entirely take leave of the fea,
I will communicate my obfervations on two
curious phoenomena.

In the channel and in the ocean we faw
at night time, /parks of fire, as if flow-
ing on the water, efpecially where it was
agitated, fometimes one fingle {park {wam
for the {pace of more than one minute on
the ocean before it vanifhed. The failors
obferved them commonly to appear during,
and after a ftorm from the north, and that
_ often the fea is as if it were full of fire, and
that fome fuch fhining {parks would like-
wife ftick to the mafts and fails. .

SomEeTiIMes this light had not the ap-
pearance of {parks, but looked rather like
the phofphorefcence of putrid wood.

‘Tue Thames-water which made our pro- _
vifion of frefh water, is reputed to be the ©

beft

26 Ocean between Europe and America.

beft of any. It not only fettled in the oak
cafks it is kept in, but becomes in a little
time ftinking, when ftopped up; however
this naufeous {mell it foon loofes, after being
filled into large ftone juggs, and expofed to
the open frefh air for two or three hours
together. Often the vapours arifing from a
cafk which has been kept clofe and ftopped
up for a great while take fire, if a candle
is held near them when the cafk is opened,
and the IA+ames water is thought to have
more of this quality than any other; though
I was told that this even happened with
any other water in the fame circumftances.
Now I can refume my narrative, and
therefore obferve that we afterwards failed
on the river with a fair wind, pretty late at
night. In the dawn of the evening we paf-
fed by Newca/ftle, a little town on the wett-
ern fhore of the river Delaware. It was
already fo dark, that we could hardly know
it, but by the light which appeared through
fome of the windows. The Dufchare faid
to have been the firft founders of this place,
which is therefore reckoned the moft an-
cient in the country, even more ancient
than Philadelphia. But its trade can by no
means be compared with the Philadelphia
trade, though its fituation has more advan-
tages in feveral refpects; one of which *
that

River Delaware. 27

that the river feldom freezes before it, and
confequently fhips can come in and go out
at any time. But near Philadelphia it is al-
moft every winter covered with ice, fo that
navigation is interrupted for fome weeks
together. But the country about Péz/a-
delphia and farther up, being highly culti-
vated, and the people bringing all their
goods to that place, Newca/ile muft always
be inferior to it. | : |
I MENTIONED, that the Dutch laid the
foundations of this town. This happened
at the time, when this country was as yet
fabje&t to Sweden. But the Dutch crept
in, and intended by degrees to difpoffefs
the Swedes, as a people who had taken
poffefiion of their property. . They fuc-
ceeded in their attempt; for the Swedes
_ not being able to bear with this encroach-
ment, came to a war, in which the Dutch
got the better. But they did not enjoy the
fruits of their victory long: for a few years
after, the Engl/h came and deprived them.
of their acquifition, and have ever fince
continued inthe undifturbed poffeffion of the
country. Somewhat later at night we caft
anchor, the pilot not venturing to carry the
fhip up the river in the dark, feveral fands
being in the way.
September 15th. In the dawn of the
morning

28 September 1748.

morning we weighed anchor, and continu-
ed our voyage up the river. The country
was inhabited almoft every where on both
fides. The farm-houfes were however
pretty far afunder. About eight o’clock in
the morning we failed by the | little town of
Chefter, on the weftern fide of the river.

In this town, our mate, who was born in
Philadelphia, fhewed me the places, which
the Swedes ftill inhabit.

AT laft we arrived in Philadelphia about
ten o’Clock in the morning. We had not
been more than fix weeks, or (to {peak
more accurately) not quite forty one days
on our voyage from Grave/fend to this place,
including the time we fpent at Dea/, in
fupplying ourfelves with the neceflary frefh
provifions, &c. our voyage was therefore.
reckoned one of the fhorteft. For it is
common in winter time to be fourteen,
nineteen, or more weeks in coming from
Gravefend to Philadelphia. Hardly any
body ever had a more pleafant voyage over
this great ocean, than we had. Captain
Lawfin affirmed this feveral times. Nay
he affured us he had never feen fuch calm
weather in this ocean, though he had croff-
ed it very often. The wind was generally
fo favourable that a boat of a middling fize
might have failed in perfe&t fafety. The

fea

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 29

fea never went over ourcabin, and but once
over the deck, and that was only in a {well.
The weather indeed was fo clear, that a
great number of the Germans on-board flept
on the deck. The cabin windows needed
not the fhutters. All thefe are circum-
ftances which fhow the uncommon good-
~ nefs of the weather. |
CapTain Law/on’s civility increafed the
pleafure of the voyage. For he fhewed me
all the friendfhip, that he could have fhewn
to any of his relations. |
As foon as we were come to the town,
and had caft anchor, many of the inhabi-
tants came on board, to enquire for Letters.
They took all thofe which they could car-
ry, either for themfelves or for their friends.
Thofe, which remained, the captain or-
dered to be carried on fhore, and to be
brought into a coffee-houfe, where. every
body could make enquiry for them, and by
this means he was rid of the trouble of de-
livering them himfelf. I afterwards went
on fhore with him. But before he went,
he ftrictly charged the fecond mate, to let
noone of the German refugees out of the
fhip, unlefs he paid for his pafiage, or
er body elfe paid for him, or bought.
im. Wu i
On my leaving London I received letters
7 of

30 September 1748.

of recommendation...from Mr. Adrahbam
Spalding, Mr. Peter Collinfon, Dr. Mitchel,
and others to their friends here. It was
eafy for me therefore to get acquaintance.
Mr. Benjamin Franklin, to whom Penfylua-
nia is indebted for its welfare, and the learn-
ed world for many new difcoveries in Elec-
tricity, was the firft, who took. notice of
me, and introduced me to many of his
friends. He gave me all neceffary inftruc-
tions, and fhewed me his kindnefs on meny
occafions.

I went to day accompani¢de iy, Mr.
‘facoh Bengtfon, a member of the Swed/b
confiftory and the fculptor Gufavus Heffe-
lus, to fee the town and. the fields which
lay before it. (The former is brother of _
the rev. Mefirs. Andrew and Samuel Heffe-
Jus, both minifters at Chri/izana. in new
Sweden, and of the late Dr. ‘fohn Heffelus
in the provinces of Neri and Wermeland).
My new friend had followed his brother
Andrew in 1711 to this country, and had
fince lived in it. I found that I was now
come into anew world. Whenever I look-
ed to the ground, I every where found fuch
plants as | had never feen before. When
I faw a tree, I was forced to ftop, and. afk
thofe who accompanied me, how it.was
called. The firft plant which ftruck my

eyes

Penfyluama, Philadelphia. St

eyes was an Andropogon, ora kind of grafs,
and grafs is a part of Botany I always de-
lighted in. I was feized with terror at the
thought of ranging fo many new and un-
known parts of natural hiftory:. At firft I
only confidered the plants, without ventu-
ring-a more accurate examination.

AT night I took up my lodging ey a
grocer who was a quaker, and I met with
very good honeft people in this houfe, fuch
as moft people of this profeflion appeared
to me, land my Yung frem, the companion
of my voyage, had a room, candles, beds,
attendance, and three meals a day, if we
chofe to have fo many, for twenty fhillings
per week in Penfylvania currency. But
wood, wafhing and wine, if required, were
to be paid for befides.

September the 16th. Berore I proceed
I muft give a fhort defcription of Phila-
delphia, which I fhali frequently mention
in the fequel of my travels. I here put
down feveral particulars which I marked
during my ftay at that place, as a help to
my memory.

PHILADELPHIA, the capital of Penfylua-
nia, a province which makes part of what
formerly was called New Sweden is one of
the principal towns in North-America; and
next to Boffon the greateft. It is fituated

Lee almoft

32. September 1748. |

almoft-in:the center of the Exgii/h colonies,
and its dat. is thirty nine deg. and “fifty
min. but its weft long. from London near
feventy-five deg, ora To Se PES
-/Turs town was: builtin the year. 1683, or
as others fay in 1682, by the well known
quaker Wilham: Pen, who got this whole
province by a grant from Charles the Jecond,
king-of England ; after Sweden had given
up. its claims to it. “According to Pen’s
plan the town was to have boda baile upon
apiece of land which is formed by the
union of the rivers Delaware and Skulkill, in
a quadrangular form, two Engh/> miles
long and one broad. The eaftern fide
would therefore have been bounded by the
Delaware, and the weftern by the Sta/kill.
They had actually begun:to build houfes
on. both thefe rivers; 9 for eight capital
fireets, cach two Engh/b miles long, and
fixteen lefler ftreets (or lanes) acrofs them,
each one mile in length, were marked out,
with a confiderable ‘breadth, and in‘ ftrait
lines... The place was at that time ‘almotft
an. entire wildernefs covered with ‘thick
forefts,.and belonged to three® Swedi/h
brothers called Sven’s-Saner (Sons of Sven)
who had fettled in it. They with diffieul-
ty left the place, the fituation of which was
very advantageous. But at daft they were
per-

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 34

perfuaded to it by Pen, who gave them a
few Englijh miles from that place twice
the fpace of country they inhabited.
However Pen himfelf and his defcendants
after him, have confiderably leffened the
ground belonging to them, by repeated
menfurations, under pretence that they had
taken more than they ought. |

Bur the inhabitants could not be got in
fufficient number to fill a place of fuch ex-
tent, The plan therefore about the river
Skulkill was laid afide till more favoura-
ble circumstances fhould occur, and the
houfes were only built along the De/aware.
This river flows along the eaftern fide of
the town, is of great advantage to its trade,
and gives a fine profpect. The houfes
which had already been built upon the
Skulkill. were tranfplanted hitherto by de-
grees. This town accordingly lies in a very
pleafant country, from north to fouth along
the river. It meafures fomewhat more than
an Englifb mile in length; and its breadth
in fome places is half a mile or more.
The ground is flat and confifts of fand
mixed with a little clay. Experience has
fhewn that the air of this place is very
healthy. |

‘Tue fireets are regular, fine, and moft of
them are fifty foot, Englh/h meafure, broad;
| C Arch-

34 September 1748.

Arch-fireet meafures fixty fix feet in breadth;
and) Market-ftreet or the principal ftreet,
where the market is kept, near a hundred.
‘TFhofe which run longitudinally, or from
north to fouth are feven, exclufive of a
little one, which runs along’ the river," to
the fouth of the market, and is called
Water-ftreet. The lanes which go ‘acrofs,
and were intended to reach from’the De-
laware to the Skulkill, are eight innumber.
They do not go quite from eaft to weft, but
deviate a little from that direction: All the
ftreets except two which are neareft'to the
river, run in a ftraight line, and make right
angles at the interfections. Some are paved,
others are not; and it feems lefs neceflary
fince the ground is fandy, and therefore foon
abforbs the wet. . But in molt of the ftreéts
isa pavement of flags, a fathom or'more
broad, laid before the houfes, and pofts put
on the outfide three or four fathom afunder.
Under the roofs are gutters which are
carefully connected with pipes, \and\by this
means, thofe who walk underthem, ‘when
it rains, or when the {now melts, need
not fear being We Sena ie the nee nese
the roofs.

Tue houfes ie a pond appearance,
‘are frequently feveral ‘ftories “high, and
built either of bricks or of ftone; but’ the

| former

Penfylvania,* Philadelphia. 35

former are» more commonly ufed, fince

bricks are made before the town, and are
well burnt... The {tone which. has. been
employed in the; building of other houfes,
is a mixture of black or grey glimmer, run-
ning, in undulated veins, and of a loofe; and
quite {mall grained /meffone, which run
{cattered. between the bendings of the other
veins, and are of a grey colour, excepting
here and: there fome) fingle grains of fand,
ofa palerjhue.. The glimmer makes the
greateft part of the ftone; but the mixture
is) fometimes of another kind, as I fhall re-
late hereafter under. the article, eleventh of
Odfober., >This fione is. now got in great
quantities in the country, is eafily cut, and
has the;good quality of not attracting the
moifture in. a) wet feafon. Very good lime
is burntrevery when hereabouts, for: ma-~

- fonry.,

«Tue houfes are ciel with fhingles.
The wood for this purpofe is taken from
the Cupreffussthyoides, Linn. or a tree which
Swedes here-call:the white seryrsiien and
the Engh/b, the white cedar. . Swamps and
Morafies formerly were full of them, but
at prefent thefe trees are for the greateft
partcut down; and no attempt has as yet
been made to:plant.new ones... The wood
is elk lights;\rots lefs than any other in
PLCS C2 this

36 September 1748.

this country, and for that reafon is exceed-
ing good for roofs. . For it is not too heavy
for the. walls, and will ferve for forty or
fifty. years together. But many people
already begin to fear, that thefe roofs will
in time be looked upon as having been very
detrimental-to the city... For being fo very
light, moft. people. who have built their
houfes of ftone, or bricks, have been led
to make their walls extremely thin. But
at prefent this kind of wood is almoft en-
tirely deftroyed. Whenever therefore in
procefs of time thefe roofs decay,. the peo-
ple will be obliged to have recourfe to the
heavier materials of tiles, or the like; which
the walls will not be {trong enough to bear.
The roof will therefore require. fupports, |
or the people be obliged to pull down the
walls. and to build - new ones, or to take
other fteps for. fecuring them.,. Several
people have already. in late years begun to
make roofs of tiles.

Amone the publick buildings I will fairl
mention: churches, of. which there are fe-
veral, for God is ferved in various ways in
this country.

oie Tue Enghjb Rabi ifbed cingh ftands
in the northern part of . the. town,. at fome
diftance from the market, and is the fineft
of -.all... It thas-.a- sii inconfiderable
| fteeple,

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. a7

fteeple, in whichis a bell to be rung when
it is time to go to church, and on burials.
It has likewife a clock which ftrikes the
hours. This building which ‘is ‘called
Chrift church, was founded towards the end
of the laft century, but has lately been re-
built and more adorned. It has two mi-
nifters who get the greateft part of their
falary from England. In the beginning’ of
this century, the Swedi/h minifter the
Rev. Mr. Rudmann, performed the fundi- ©
ons of a clergyman to the Engh/b congte-
gation for near two years, during the ab-
fence of their own clergyman.

2. Tue Swedifh church, which is other-
wife called the church of Weekacko, is on
the fouthern part of the town, and almoft
without it, on the river’s fide, and its fitu-
ation is therefore more agreeable than that
of any other. I fhall have an oportunity
of defcribing it more exactly, when I thall
{peak of the Swedes in particular, who live
in this place. =~ |
~°3.° Tue German Lutheran church, is
on the north-weft fide of the town. On
my arrival in America it had a little fteeple,
but that being but up by an ignorant
archite&t, before the walls of the church
were quite dry, they leaned forwards by
its weight, and: therefore they were forced
| C 3 to

28 September 1748.

to pull it down again in the autumn of the
year 1750. About that time the congre-
gation received a fine organ from Germany.
They have only one minifter, who likewife
preaches at another Lutheran church in
Germantown. We preaches alternately
one funday in that church, and another in —
this, The firft clergyman which the Lu-
therans had. in this town, was the Rev. Mr.
Muhlenberg, who laid the foundations of
this church in 1743, and» being called to
another place afterwards, the. rev. Mr.
Brunbolz from Slefwick was his fucceffor,
and is yet here. Both thefe gentlemen were
fent to this place from Ha// in Saxony, and
have been a great advantage to it by their
peculiar talent of preaching in an edifying
manner. <A little while’ before this church
was built, the Lutheran Germans had no
clergyman for themfelves, fo that the
every-where beloved Swedi/> minifter at
Weekacko, Mr. Dylander, preached -like-
wife tothem. He therefore preached three
fermons every funday; the firft'eatly in the
morning to the Germans ; the fecond to the
Swedes, and the third in ‘the afternoon to
the Exglfh, and befides''this he went» all
the week into the country: and’ inftruated
the Germans who lived feparately ‘there.
He therefore frequently preached fixteen

fermons

Penfylvania, Phyladelpbia. 39

fermons .a week. . And. after his .death,
which happened. in November 1741, the Ger-
mans firft wrote to. Germany for a-clergyman —
for themfelves. This congregation is at pre-
fent, very numerous, fo that every, funday
the church is very much crowded... It has
two galleries, butno veftry. They do not
fing the collects, but. read them before the
alfatiens Si s cts mm ,
os 40. Tue old Prefbyterian. church, isnot
far from the market, and on. the fouth-fide.
of market-fireet. It is of a middling fize,
and built in the year 1704, as the infcrip-
tion onthe. northern. pediment . fhews.
The roof is built almoft hemifpherical, or at
leaft forms.a hexagon.. The whole build-
ing ftands from north to fouth, . for, the
pre{byterians do not regard, as other people
do, whether their churches look towards, a
certain point of the heavens or not...

5. Tue new Prefbyterian church..was
built in the year.1750, by the New-“ights
in the north-weftern part of the town... By
the name of New-/ights, are underftood the
people who have, from different religions,
become.profelytes to the well known
W bitefield, who inthe years 1739» 1740,
and likewife in,.1744 and 17465 travelled
through -almoft all the Enghjh. colonies.
His. deliyery,:bis, extraordinary zeal, and
7 & 4 other

40 September 1748.

other talents fo well adapted to the intelects
of his hearers, made him fo popular that he |
frequently, efpecially in the two» firft
years, got from eight thoufand to twenty ©
thoufand hearers in the fields. His inten-
tion in thefe travels, was to colle& money
for an orphans hofpital which had been
erected in Georgia. He here frequently
collected feventy pounds fterling at one fer=
mon; . nay, at two. fermons which «he
preached in the year 1740, both on: one
funday, at Philadelphia, he got an hundred
and fifty pounds. The profelytes of this
man, or the above-mentioned zew-/ghts,
are at prefent merely a fe& of prefbyterians.
For though Whitefield was originally «a
clergyman of the Exghj/h church, yet he
deviated by little. and» little -from her
doctrines; and on arriving in the year-1744
at Boffon in New England, he difputed with
the Prefbyterians about their: doétrines, fo
much. that he almoft entirely embraced
them. For Whitefield was no great difpu-
tant, and could therefore eafily be: led by
thefe cunning people, .whitherfoever they
would have him. This likewife during his
latter ttay in America caufed his audience
to be lefs numerous than during the firft.
The zew-/ights built firt in the year 1741,
a great houfe in the weftern part of the

town,

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 4t

town, to hold divine fervice in. But a di-
vifion arifing amongft them after the des
parture of Whitefield, and befides on other
accounts, the building was fold to the town
in the beginning of the year 17:50, and def-
tined fora fchool. The #ew-lghrs: then
built a church which FI call the new Pre/by~
terian one. ©On its eaftern pediment is the
following -infeription, in golden letters’:
Templum Prefbyterianum, annuente numine,
erectum, Anno Dom. MDCCL. flos27q
6. Tus old German reformed church is
built in the weft north-weft part of the
town; and looks like the church in the
| Ladugoord field near Stockholm. tis not yet
finifhed, though for feveral years together,
the congregation has kept up divine fervice
init. «Thefe Germans attended the German
fervice at the Swedi/b church, whilft’ the
Swedifh minifter Mr. Dylander lived.—-But
as the Lutherans got aclergyman for them-
felves oni the death of the laft, thofe of the
reformed:chutch made likewife preparations
to get one from “Dordrecht; and the firft
who was fent to them, was the Rev. Mr:
Slaughter, whom I found on my arrival:
But in the year 1750, another clergyman of
the reformed church arrived from: Hol/and,
and by his artful behaviour, fo infinuated
himfelf into the favour of the Revi Mr.
3 Slaughter’ s

42 .. September 1748.

Slaughter’s congregation, that the, latter
loft almoft half his audience. .. The two
clergymen then difputed for feveral)fun-
days together, about the pulpit, nay, people
relate that the new comer: mounted the
pulpit on a faturday, and. ftayed’ in it all
night. The other being thus excluded, the
two parties in the audience, made them-
felves the fubje&t both of the laughter:and
of the {corn of the whole town, by beating
and bruifing each other, and,committing
other excefies.. The affair, was inquired
into by the magiftrates, and decided|in:fa- -
vour of the rev. Mr. syene the —
who had been abufed.

Tue new reformed church, was. built
at a little diftance from the old one)by the
party of the clergyman, who had, loft. his
caufe. This man: however had ‘influence
enough to bring over to his party almoft
thé whole audience) of: his antagonift,, at
the end of the year 1750, and therefore this
new church will foon be ufelefs:

8. 9. THE Quakers have two meetings,
one in: the market, and the other in the
northern part of the town. \In them are
according to the cuftom of this people, nei-
ther altars, nor pulpits, nor any other. or-
naments ufual in churches; but only. feats
and fome fconces, They meet thrice every

funday

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 43

fanday 1 in them, and befides that at certain
times every week orevery month. «I :thall
mention more about them hereafter.
10, ‘Tue Baptits, have their fervice,
in ve northern part of the town.
sf Tae Roman Catholicks, have j in the
Slenbe seal part of the town a great houfe,
which is well adorned: within, and has an
organ.
> y2. Tur Moravian Brethren, have hi-
red a great houfe, in the northern part of the
town, in which they performed the fervice
bothinGermanand in Engh/b; not only twice
or three’times every funday, but likewife
every night after it was grown dark. But
in the winter of the year 1750, they were
obliged to drop their evening meetings;
fome wanton: young fellows having feveral
‘times difturbed the congregation, by an in-
ftrument founding like the note of a cuckoo,
for this noife they made in a dark corfier,
not only at the end of every ftanza, but
likewife at that of every Haws whilft they
were finging a hymn.
-“Tuoss of the Engli/h eletsetihy the New-
lights, the Quakers, and the Germans of
the reformed religion, have each of them
their burying | places ion one fide’ out of
‘town, and’not near their churches, though
the firft of thefe fometimes make an excep-
tion. All the others bury their dead in
their

AA September 1748.

their church-yards, ‘and Moravian brethren
bury where they can. The Negroes are
buried in a particular place out of town.

' T now proceed to mention the other pab-
lick buildings in Philadelphia.

Tue Town-hall, or the place where the
affemblies are held, is fituated in the weftern
part of the town, it is a fine large building,
having a tower with a bell in the middle,
and is the greateft ornament to the town.
The deputies of each province meét in it
commonly every Odfober, or even more
frequently if circumftances require it, ih
order to confider of the welfare of the coun-
try, and to hold their parliaments or diets in
miniature. There they revife the old laws,
and make new ones.

On one fide of this building ftands the
Library, which was firft begun in the year
1742, on a publick fpirited plan, formed and
put in execution by the learned Mr.
Franklin. For he perfuaded firft the moft
fubftantial people in town to pay forty
fhillings at the outfet, and afterwards an-
nually ten fhillings, all in Penfylvania cur-
rency, towards purchafing all kinds of ufeful
books. ‘The fubfcribers are entitled to
make ufe of the books. Other people are
likewife at liberty to borrow them for a
certain time, but muft leave a pledge and

ik ed

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 45

pay eight-pence a week for a folio volume,
fix-pence for a quarto,..and four-pence for
all others»of a fmaller fize....As foonias the
time, allowed a perfon. for the perufal of
the volume, is elapfed, it muft. be-return-
ed, or he is fined. :. The.money arifing in
this manner. is employed. for the falary of
the librarian, and for purchafing new
books.. ‘There was already a fine colle¢ti-
on of excellent works, moft of them Eug-
ijk; many French and Latin, but few in
any other language. . The fubfcribers were
fo kind to me, as to order the librarian,
during my ftay here, to lend me every book,
which I fhould want, without requiring
any payment of me. The library was open
every faturday from four to eight o’clock
in the afternoon. Befides the books, feveral
mathematical and phyfical inftruments, and
a large collection of natural curiofities were
to be feen in it. Several little libraries
were founded in the town on the fame foot-
ing or nearly with this.

The Court Houfe ftands in the middle of
Market fireet, to the weft of the market, it
isa fine building, witha little tower in
which there is a bell. Below and round
about this building the market is properly
kept every week. .

Tue building of the Academy, is in the

wettern

46 _ September 1748.

weftern, part of the town. It was formerly
as I have-before mentioned, a meeting-houfe
of the followers of Whitefield, but they fold
it,in the year 1750,,.and. it was deftined to
be the feat of an. univerfity, or to exprefs
myfelf in more exact terms, to be,a college,
it was therefore fitted up to) this purpofe.
The youths are here only taught thofe things
which they learh in our. common {chools ;
but in time, fuch leGiures are intended to be
read _here,. as are ufual in real univerfities.
At the clofe of the laft war, a,redoudbt
was. erected here, on the fouth fide of the
town, near the river, to prevent the French —
and Spanifb privateers from landing., But |
this was done after a very. {trong debate.
For the quakers oppofed all fortifications, as
contrary to the tenets, of their, religion,
which allow not, chriftians to,.make war
either, offenfive or defenfive, but dire them
to place their, truft. in. the Almighty alone.
Several papers were then handed about for
and againit the opinion. ; But),the,enemy’s
privateers having taken feveral | veffels be-
longing to the. town,/in the. river, many
of the quakers, if not all, of, them,-found
it reafonable to forward.the building ofthe
fortification as much as polities at leaft-by
a fupply of money. cs a nae
OF all the, natural advantages » of the
towns

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 49

town,/its temperate cimate is the moft con-
fiderable, the winter not being over fevere,
andits duration but fhort, andthe fummernot
too hot; the country round about bringing
forth thofe fruits in the greateft plenty,
which’ are raifed by hufbandry. Their
September and Oéfober are like the beginning
of the Swedi/h Augufi. And the firft days
in their February are frequently as pleafant,
as the end’ of Apri] and the beginning of
May in Sweden. Even their coldeft days in
fome winters have been no feverer, than
the days at the end of autumn are in the mid-
dlemoft parts of Sweden, and the fouthern
ones of Finland.
"Pre good and clear water in Philadelphia,
is ikewife one of its advantages. For though
there are’ no fountains in the town, yet
there is a wel/ in every houfe, and feveral in
the ftreets, all which afford excellent water
for boiling, drinking, wafhing, and other
ufes.. The water is commonly met with
at the depth of forty feet. The water of
the river Delaware is likewife good. But
in making the wells, a fault is frequently
‘committed, which in feveral places of the
town fpoils the water which is naturally
good; Ifhall in the fequel take an oppor-
tunity of {peaking further about it. |
--°THe* Delaware is exceeding convenient
poten f fie

v

48, September 1748.

for trade..It is one of the greateft rivers in
the world: is three Englj/b miles broad at
its mouth, two miles at the town of Wi/-
mington, and three quarters of a mile at
Philadelphia. This city hes within »ninety
or an hundred Ezgli/h miles from the fea,
or from -the place where the river Delaware
difcharges itfelf into the bay of that name.
Yet its depth is hardly ever lefs than five or
fix fathom. The greateft thips: therefore
can fail quite up to the town and anchor in
good ground in five fathoms of water, on
the fide of the bridge. The water here has
no longer a faltith tafte, and therefore all
deftructive worms, which have -faftened
themfelyes to the {hips in. the feay and have
pierced holes into them, either die, or drop
off, after the fhip has been here fora while.
Tue only difadvantage which trade la-
bours under here, is the freezing of the ri-
ver almoft every winter for a month or
more. For during that time the navigati-
on is entirely ftopped. But this does not
happen at Bofton, New York, ae other
towns which are nearer the feas 00 |
Tue tide comes up to Philadelphia, and
even goes thirty miles higher, to Trenton.
The difference between high and low water
is eight feet at Philadelphia.» .
Tue cataracts of the ‘Delaware: near
Trenton,

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 46

Trenton, and of the Skulkil] at fome diftance
from Philadelphia, make thefe rivers ufelefs
further up the country, in regard to the
conveyance of goods either from or to Pd-
lelpbia. Both muft therefore be carried
on waggons or carts. It has therefore al-
ready been thought of to make thefe two
fivers navigable in time, at leaft for large
boats and {mall veffels. 2 | |

SeverRAL fhips are annually built. of
American oak, in the docks which are
made in feveral parts of the town and about
it, yet they can by no means be put in
comparifon with thofe built of European
oak, in point of goodnefs and duration.

. THE town carries on a great trade, both
with the inhabitants of the country, and
to other:parts of the world, efpecially to
the Weft Indies, South America, and the
Antilles ;. to England, Ireland, Portugal,
and to: feveral Engl/h colonies in North
Americas Yet none but Engli/b thips are
allowed to come into this port.

_ PHILADELPHIA reaps the greateft profits
from its trade to the Wef Indies. For thi-
ther the inhabitants fhip almoft every day’
a quantity of flour, butter, flefh and other
victuals ytimber, plank and the like. In
return they receive either fugar, molaffes,
fum, indigo, mahogany, and other goods,

sghey F D

or

50 September 1748.

or ready money... The true mahogany,
which grows in famaica, is at prelenn: ae
moft, all cut down,

.'Tuey fend both Weft India goods, viet
Gieavne productions to. England; the lat-
ter are all forts of woods, efpecially black
walnut, and oak planks for fhips; fhips
ready built, iron, hides and tar. Yet this
latter is properly bought in New Ferfey, the
forefts of which province are confequently
more ruined than any others... Ready mo-
ney 1s likewife fent over to England, from
whence in return they get all forts of goods
there manufactured, viz. fine and coarfe
cloth, linen, iron ware, and other wrought
metals, and Eaft India goods. | For it is to
be obferved that England fupplies Pdzladel-
pita with almoft all ftuffs and manufactur-
ed goods which are wanted here. ,

A GREAT quantity of linfeed goes annu-
ally to Ireland, together with many of the
fhips which are built here. | Portugal gets
wheat, corn, flour and maize which is not
ground. Spam fometimes takes fome corn.
But all the money, which is got. in thefe
feveral countries, muft immediately be fent
to England, in payment for the goods which
are got from thence, and yet thofe {ums are
not fufficient to pay all the debts. i

Burt to fhew more exactly, what. the
town and province have imported from

England

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. st

England, in different years, I ‘fhall here
infert an extract from the Englj/h cuftom-
-houfe books, which I got from the engi~
neer, Lewis Evans, at Philadelphia, and
which will fufficiently anfwer the purpofe.
This gentleman had defired one ‘of his
friends in London to fend him a compleat
account of all the goods fhipped from
England to ‘Penfylvuania in feveral years.
He got this account, and though the goods
are not enumerated in it, yet their value
in money is calculated. Such extracts from
the cuftom-houfe books have been made
for every ‘North-American province, in or-
der to convince the Engl/h parliament,
that thofe provinces have taken greater
quantities of the goods in that kingdom,
ever fince they have turned their money
into bills. |

I wave taken the copy from the original.
itfelf, and it is to be obferved that it begins
with the chriftmas of the year 1722, and
‘ends about the fame time of the year 1747.
In the firft column is the value of the
foreign goods, the duty for which has al-
ready been paid in England. The fecond
column fhews the value of the goods ma-
nufactured in’ England and exported to
Penfyluania:* “And in the laft column thefe
two fums’ are added together, but at the
bottom each’of the columns is caft up.

: D2 Bur

52 September 1748.

Bur this table does not include the goods
which are annually, {hipped in great quantities
to Penfylvanta from. Scotland and Ireland, a-
mong which is a great quantity of Tinen. |

The Value of the Goods annually thipped from !

feo a England to pS eit es ,

pe 358 |

15 or | The Sumsofthefe}
ios Exel: i/o manufac-| |two preceding co-
SSS, “tured Goods. lumns added to-
| : S gether,.

raped secow
|
5409 1.13 T
= esas ae
10301 | 12}
iii. 44
10243 | oO
£4.07;3: p ¥3
12948 | 8
15660 | 10.
11838 | 17
15240 | 14
13187 | oO
19648 | 15
18078 | 4
23456
iPad ee
20320 | 1g
QO41 |. 4
10280 | 2
12977 |-¥8
14458) 6}
19220]. 3
14681 | 8
13043 | 8
18103 | 12
8585 ' 14

Xx
as

—

mVIW NI CO Coun
NY Be APH HPO KHONAP PO KN HO EN ONE

| =

=

_
Wn
fon]

ener

mS COP DAW O OCW W FOO COP Pp

_
Lal

-—

ha

A ED

}Total. 343.789 16 0 969,049 1 6 1,312,838 17 6
Ramee ne cee Ss tT Pe ME ORT SIS IN TI A
THE

Penfyloania, Philadelphia. 53

- Tur whole extent of the Philadelphia
trade may be comprehended from the num-
ber of fhips, which annually arrive at and
fail from this town. I intend to infert here
a table of a few years which I have taken
from the gazettes of the town. The fhips
coming and going in one year, are to be
reckoned from the twenty fifth of March
of that year, to the twenty fifth of March of
the next. | . ‘

‘The Year. Ships arrived. Ships failed.

1735 199 212.
1740 307 208.
174! hel ez 309.
1744 229 ain:
1745. - 280 301.
1746 273 293.

Burt it is much to be feared that the trade
of Philadelphia, and of all the Engl colo-
nies, will rather decreafe than encreafe,
in cafe no provifion is made to prevent it.

I fhall hereafter plainly fhew upon what
foundation this decreafe of trade is likely to
take place. |
THE town not only furnifhes moft of
the inhabitants of Penfylvania with the
goods which they want, but numbers of

D 3 the

54. September 1748.

the inhabitants of New ferfey come wuery
day-and carry ona great trade. 9) 8

THE town has two great fairs every years
one in May, and the other in» November,
both on the fixteenth days of thofe two
months. But befides thefe fairs, there are
every week two market days, viz. Wedne/-
day and Saturday. On thofe days the coun-
try people in Penfylvania and New Ferfey,
bring to town a quantity of victuals, and
other productions of the country, and this
is a great advantage to the town. It is
therefore to be wifhed-that the like regula-
tion might be made in our Swedi/h towns.
You are fure to meet with every produce of
the feafon, which the country affords, on
the market-days.. But on other ORP they
are in. vain fought for..

Provisions are always to be got Gib
here, and for that reafon moft of the inha-
bitants never buy more at a time, than what
will be fufficient till the next market-day.
In fummer there is a market almoft every
day; for the victuals do not keep well in
the great heat.. There are two places. in
the town where thefe markets are kept;
but that near the court-houfe is the princi-
pal. It begins about four or five o’clock in
the morning, and ends about nine o'clock
in the forenoon.

Tur

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. sy

Tue town is not enclofed, and has*no
sities 10 eae than - oat one for.
the Gilpay sess a

‘Tue biovernor: of the whiole province lives
here; and though he is nominated by' the
heirs of Pen, yet he cannot take that office
without being confirmed by the king” ‘of
England.

- THE quakers of almoft all parts of North=
America, have their = affembly here
once a year.

In the-year 1743, 2 fociaty. for the ad-
vancement of the {ciences was erected here.
Its objets would have been the curiofities
of the three kingdoms of nature, mathe-
maticks, phyfick, chemiftry, ceconomy, and
manufactures. But the war, which enfued
immediately, {topped all defigns of this na-
ture, and fince that time, nothing has been
done towards eftablifhing any thing of this
_ kind.

‘THE declination of the needle was nor
obferved on'the thirtieth of Odfober 1750,
old ftyle, to be five deg. and forty-five
min. weft. It was examined by the new
meridian, which was drawn at Philadelphia
in the autumn of the fame year, and ex-
tended a milein length. By experience it
appears, that this declination leffens about
a degree in twenty years time.

D4 «VRS

56. | September 1748.

- THe preate difference in the rifing and
fallen of the barometer, is according to
the obfervations made for feveral years to=
gether by Mr. Fames Logan, found at 28”
59 and 30° 78. |

Here are three printers, and every ‘ens
two Engijh, and one German ereweipapat
is printed.

In the year 1732, on the fifth of Septem-
ber, old ftyle, a little earthquake was felt
here about noon, and at the fame time at
Bofton in New England, and at Montreal in
Canada, which places are above fixty Swe
difh miles afunder. |

In the month of November of the year
1737, the well known prince from mount
Lebanon, Sheich Sidi came to Philadelphia, on
his travels through moft of the Engl
American colonies. And in the fame year
a fecond earthquake was felt about eleven
o'clock at night, on the feventh of Decem-
ber. But it did not continue above. half a
minute, and yet, it- was felt according to
the accounts of the gazettes atthe fame
hour in Newea/ile, New York, New London,
Bofton, and other towns of New England. .
It had. therefore likewife reached feveral
miles.

Tue count Sinzendorf * atrived here i in

ud Head of the Moravian Brethren. F.
3 | the

Penfylvanta, Philadelphia. 67

the December of the year 1741, and conti-
nued till the next fpring. : His uncommon
behaviour perfuaded many: Eugl/bmen of
rank, that he was diferdered in his head.

_ I wave not been able to find the. exact
number of the inhabitants of Philadelphia.
In the -year 1746, they were reckoned above
ten thoufand, and fince that time. their
number jis incredibly encreafed.. Neither
can it be-made out from the Bills: of morta-
lity, fince they are not kept regularly in all
the churches:: I thall, however, mention
fome of thofe which appeared either in the
gazettes, or in bills printed on purpofe.. .

Year: Dead::, Year.;Dead.|-Yeari; Dead.
1730 | 227 |[ 1741 | 345 1/1745" 420
738 {250 1] 1742 | 409 |] 1748] 672
1739 | 35° 1743 | 425 1 1749;) 758
1740 | 290} 1744 | 410 ]} 1750 ev

From thefe bills of mariality it life ap-
pears, that the difeafes which are the moft
fatal, are confumptions, fevers, convulfi-
ons, setae) hemorrhagies, and drop-
a vee | ‘

Tuer number of thofe that are born can-
not be determined, fince in many churches
no order is obferved with regard to this af-
fair. The quakers, who are the moft

| . nume-

58 . « September 1748.

numerous in this town, never baptize their
children, though they take a pretty exact
account of all who are born among them.

Ir is likewife impoffible to guefs at the
Miephcodt inhabitants from the dead, be-
caufe the town gets fuch great fupplies an-
nually from other countries. | In the fum-
mer of the year 1749, near twelve thoufand
- Germans came over to Philadelphia, many
of whom ftaid in that town. In the fame
year the houfes in PAzlade/pbra were count-
ed, and found to be two thoufand and feven-
ty fix in number.

THE town is now quite filled witla inthe
bitants, which in regard to their country,
religion and trade, are very different from
each other. : You meet with excellent
mafters in all trades, and many things are
made here full as well as in England. Yet
no manufactures, efpecially for making fine
cloth are eftablifhed. Perhaps the reafon
is, that it can be got with fo little difficul-
ty from England, and that the breed of theep
which is brought over, degenerates in pro-
cefs of time, and affords but a coarfe wool.

HERE is great plenty of provifions, and
their prices are very moderate, There are
no examples of an extraordinary dearth.

_.Every one who acknowledges God to
be the Creator, preferver and ruler of all

things,

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 59

things, and teaches or undertakes nothing
againft the ftate, or ‘againit the common
peace, is at liberty to fettle, ftay, ‘and ‘car-
ry on his trade here, be his religious prin-
ciples ever fo ftrange. No one is here mo-
lefted on account of the erroneous princi-
ples of the doctrine which he follows, if he
does not exceed the above-mentioned bounds.
And he is fo well fecured by the laws in
his perfon and property, and enjoys fuch
liberties; that a citizen of Philadelphia may
in a manner be faid to live in his houfelike
a king.
- Ow a careful confideration of what Ihave
already faid, it will be eafy to conceive how
this citv fhould rife fo fuddenly from no-
thing, into fuch grandeur and perfection,
without fuppofing any powerful monarch’s
contributing to it, either by punifhing the
wicked, or by giving great fupplies in mo-
ney. And yet its fine appearance, good
regulations, agreeable fituation, natural ad-
vantages, trade, riches and power, are by
no means inferior to thofe of any, even of
the moft ancient towns in Europe. It has
not been neceflary to force people to come
and fettle here ; on the contrary foreigners
of different languages, have left their coun-
try, houfes, property and relations, and
ventured over wide and ftormy feas, in order
| to

60 September 1748.

to come hither. Other countries, which
have been peopled for a long fpace of time,
complain of the fmall number of their in-
habitants. But Pen/ylvania, which was no
better than a defart in the year 1681, and
hardly contained five hundred people, now
vies with feveral kingdoms in Europe, in
number of inhabitants. It has received
numbers of people which other countries,
to their infinite lofs, have either pices
or expelled.
‘A WRETCHED old wooden building, on
a hill near the river fomewhat north of the
Wickako church, belonging to one of the
Sons of Sven, of whom, as before-mention-
ed, the ground was bought for building
Philadelphia upon, is preferved on purpofe,
as a memorial of the poor ftate of that
place, before the town was built on it.
Its antiquity gives it a kind of fuperiority
over all the other buildings in town, though
in itfelf the worft of all. This hut was in-
habited, whilft as yet ftags, deers, elks,
and beavers, at broad day light lived in the
future ftreets, church-yards, and market-
places of Philadelphia. The noife of a fpin=
ning wheel was heard in this houfe, before
the manufactures now eftablifhed were
thought of, or Philadelphia built. But with
all thefe advantages, this houfe is ready to
fall

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. Gr

fall down, and in a. few years to come, it
will be as difficult to find the place where.
it ftoad, as it was unlikely at the time of
its erection, that one of the greateft towns

‘in America, fhould in a fhort time ftand.

clofe up to it.

September the 7th. Mr. Peter Cock, a
merchant of this town, aflured me that he
had laft week himfelf been a fpectator of a
fnake’s {wallowing a little bird. This bird,
which from its cry has the name of Cat
bird, ( Mufeicapa Carolinenfis,, Linn.) flew
from. one branch of a tree to another, and
was making a doleful tune. At the bot- _,
tom. of the tree, but ata fathom’s diftance ~~
from the ftem, lay one of the great black
fnakes, with its head continually upright,
pointing towards the bird, which was al-
ways fluttering about, and now and then
fettling on the branches. At firft it only
kept in the topmoft branches, but by de-
grees it came lower down, and even, few
upon the ground, and hopped to the place
where the fnake lay, which immediately
opened its mouth, caught the bird and
{wallowed it,; but it had fcarce finithed. its
repaft before Mr. Cock came up and killed
it. BE was afterwards told that this kind of
fnakes was: frequently obferved to purfue
little birds in this manner. It is already

well

~~,

,
4
a |

62 September v748.0

well:known that the rattle {nake does: the
fame. |
- LWwaALrKkep out to day into ‘the fields ia:
order to get more acquainted. with the:
plants hereabouts, I found feveral European
and even Swedifh plants among them. But.
thofe which are’ peculiar to dmericas: are
much more numerous
Tue Virginian maple grows in olen it on
the fhores of the Delaware. The Englib
in this country call it either Buttonwood,
or Waterbeech, which latter name is moft
ufual. The Swedes call it Wattenbok, or
Wafook. Itis Linneus’s Platanus cor rept

See Cate/by’s Nat. Hitt. of Carolina, vol.
p. 56.t. 56. It grows for the greateft ect in
low places, but efpecially on the edge of
rivers and brooks. But thefe trees are
eafily tranfplanted to more dry places, if
they be only filled with good foil; and as
their leaves are large and their foliage
thick, they are planted about the houfes
and in gardens, to afford a pleafant fhade
in the hot feafon, to the enjoyment of
which fome feats were placed under them.
Some of the Swedes had boxes, pails, and
the like, made of the bark of this tree by _
the native Americans. They fay that thofe
people whilft they were yet fettled here,
made little dithes of this bark for gathering
whort-

-

Penfylvania, - Philadelphia. 63

whortleberries. The -bark was a line in
thicknefs. This tree likewife grows»in
marthes, or in fwampy fields, where, ath |
and.red, maple commonly grow... They are
frequently as tall and, thick, as the beft of
our fir trees. The feed ftays on them till
{pring, but in the middle of 4pri/ the pods
open and fhed the feeds. Query, Whether
they are not ripe before that time, and
confequently fooner fit for fowing?, This
American maple is remarkable for its quick
growth, in which it exceeds all other trees. _
There are fuch numbers of them on the
low meadows between Philadelphia and the
ferry at Gloucefler, on both fides of the
road, that in fummer time you go as.it
were through a fhady walk. In that part
of Philadelphia which is near the Swedish
church, fome great trees of this kind ftand
on the fhore of theriver. Inthe year 1750,
on the 15th. of May I faw the buds ftill on
them, and in the year 1749 they began to
flower on the eighth of that month. Several
trees of this fort are planted at Chel/fea near
London, and they now in point of height
vie with. the talleft oak.

September the 18th. In the morning I
went with the Swedi/> painter, Mr. Heffe-
us, to the country feat of. Mr. Bartram,
which is about four Englij/b. miles to the

| " or tOHER

64 September 1748.

fouth of Philadelphia, at fome diftance from
the high road to Maryland, Virginia, and
Carolina. 1 had therefore the firft oppor-
tunity Fore: of getting an exact knowledge
of the ftate of the country, which was a
plain covered with all kinds of trees with
deciduous leaves. The ground was fandy,
mixed with clay. But the fand feemed to
be in greater quantity. In fome parts the
wood was cut down, and we faw the ha-
bitations of fome country people, whofe
corn-fields and plantations were pound their
farm-houfes. The wood was full of mul-
befry-trees, walnut-trees of feveral kinds,
chefnut-trees, faffafras, and the like. Se-
veral forts of wild vines clafped their ten-
drils round, and climbed up to the fummits
of the higheft trees; and in other places
they twined round the enclofures, fo thick,
that the latter almoft funk down undér |
their weight. The Perfmon, or Diofpyros
Virginiana, Linn. {p. pl. p. 1510, grew .
in the marthy fields, and about fprings. Its
little apples looked very well already, but are
not fit for eating, before the froft has affeét-
ed them, and then they have a very fine
tafte. Heffehus gathered fome of them, and
defired my fervant to tafte of the fruifs of
the land; but this poor credulous fellow,
had hardly bit into them, when he felt the
qualities

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. be

qualities they have before the froft has pe-
fetrated them. For they contracted his
mouth fo that he could hardly fpeak, and
had a very difagreeable.tafte. This dif-
gufted him fo much that he was with dif-
ficulty perfuaded to tafte of it during the
whole of our ftay in America, notwithftand-
ing it lofes all its acidity and acquires an
agreeable flavour in autumn and towards
the beginning of winter. For the fellow
always imagined, that though he fhould
eat them ever fo late in the year, they would
ftill retain the fame difagreeable tafte. 3

» To fatisfy the curiofity of thofe, who are
willing to know, how the woods look in
this country, and whether or no the trees
in them are the fame with thofe found in
our forefts, I here infert a {mall catalogue of
thofe which grow f{pontaneoufly in the woods
which are neareft to Philadelphia. But I
exclude fuch fhrubs as do not attain any con-
fiderable. height. I fhall put that tree firft in
order, which is moft plentiful, and fo on
with the reft, and therefore trees which I
have found but fingle, re near the
town, will be laft.

- Querews alba, the white oak in good
grounds” _ |
a 2. Quercus

\
66 September 1748.

2. Quercus rubra, or the black oak...

3. Quercus bifpanica, the Spanifb oak, re
variety of the preceding.

A. Fuglans alba, hiccory, a kind of ee
nut tree, of which three or four varieties.
are to. be met with.

. Rubus occidentalis, or American a
berry fhrub.

6. Acer rubrum, the maple tree with
red flowers, in {wamps.

7. Rhus glabra, the {mooth leaved Su-
mach, in the woods, on high PAR hs and
old corn-fields.

8. Vitis labrufca and Vi ulpinay vines of
feveral kinds.

g: Sambucus canadenfis, American Elder
tree, along the hedges and on glades.

Quercus pbellos, the 1wamp oak,
in moraffes.

11. Azalea lutea, the American upright
honey-fuckle, in the woods in dry places.

12. Crategus Crus gall, the Virginian
Azarole, in woods.

13. Vaccinum ------- » in pipaetes ic of
whortleberry fhrub.

14. Quercus prinus, the chefnut oak in
good ground.

15. Cornus florida, the cornelian cherry,
in all kinds of ground.

16. Liriodendron Tulipifera, the ‘tulip tree,

in

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 67

in évery kind of foil.
17. Prunus virginiana, the wild cherry
tree. |
18. Vaccinium -+-2---, a frutex whor-
tleberry; in good ground.
19. Prinos verticillatus, the winterberry
tree in fwamps. |
20. Platanus occidentalis, the water-beech.
21. Nyffa aquatica, the tupelo tree; on
fields and mountains.* : |
22. Liguidambar ftyracifiua, {weet gum
tree, near fprings. ,
23. Betula Alnus, alder, a variety of the
Swedi/h; it was here but a fhrub.
24. Fagus caftanea, the chefnut tree, on
corn-fields, paftures, and in little woods.
25. ‘Fuglans nigra, the black walnut
tree, in the fame place with the preceding
tree.
26. Rhus radicans, the twining fumach,
climbed along the trees.
_ 27. Aeer Negundo, the afh-leaved maple,
in morafies and {wampy places.
28. Prunus domeftica, the wild plumb
tree.
29. Ulmus Americana, the white elm.

* Dr. Linnaeus mentions only one fpecies of Nyfz, namely
Nyffa aquatica; Mr. Kalm does not mention the name of the
{pecies ; but if his is not a different {pecies, it muft at leaft be
a variety, fince he fays it grows on hills, whereas the aguatica
$tows in the water. F

E 2 30. Pru-

68 September 1748.

30. Prunus fpinofa, foe fhrub, in- ‘low:
places.

31. Laurus faffafras, the faflafras tree, in
a loofe foil mixed with fand.

32. Ribes nigrum, the currant tree, grew
~ in low places and in marfhes.

33. Praxinus excelfor, the afh tree in low
places.

34. Smilax laurifolia, the rough bind
weed with the bay leaf, in woods and on
_ pales or enclofures. |

35. Kalmia latifolia, the American dwarf
laurel, on the northern fide of mountains.

36. Morus rubra, the mulberry tree on
fields, hills and near the houfes.

37. Rhus vernix, the poifonous Sumach,
m wet places.

38. Quercus rubra, the red oak, but a
peculiar variety. 1

39. Hamamehs virginica, the witch hazel.

40. Dio/pyros virginiana, the perfimon.

41. Pyrus coronaria, the anchor tree.

42. Funiperus virginiana, the red juniper,
in a dry poor foil.

43. Laurus e@fivalis, {pice-wood in a
wet foil.

44. Carpinus oftrya,a{pecies of horn beam
in a good foil. —

45. Carpinus betulus, a horn beam, in —
the fame kind of foil with the former.

46. Fagus

Penfylvuania, Philadelphia. 69

» 46. Fagus fylvatica, the beech, likewife
_ in good foil. eas

Pag. Feslans, ------ , a fpecies of wal-
nut tree on hills near rivers,* called by the
Swedes Butternufire. a

48. Pinus Americana, Penfylvanian fir tree;
en the north fide of mountains, and in
vallies. -- ,

49. Betula lenta, a f{pecies of birch, on
the banks of rivers.

50. Cepbalantus occidentahs, button wood,
in wet places. —

51. Pinus teda, the New Ferfey fir tree,
on dry fandy heaths. |

52. Cercis canadenfis, the fallad tree, in
a good foil.

53- Robinia pfeudacacia, the locuft tree,
on the corn-fields.

54. Magnoha glauca, the laurel-leaved
tulip tree, in marfhy foil.

55. Liha Americana, the lime tree, in a
good foil.

56. Gleditha triacanthos, the honey locuft
tree, or three thorned acacia, in the fame foil.
57. Celtis oceidentals, the nettle tree, in

the fields. :

58. Annona muricata, the cuftard apple
in a fruitful foil.
| oN 58. An-

Tg Quere. As this the Fuglans baccata of Linneus? F.
+ This fpecies is not to be met with in Linn, fpec. plant. F.

70 September 1748.

We vifited feveral Swedes, who were
fettled here, and were at prefent in very
good circumftances. One of them was
called Andrew Rambo; he had a fine houfe
built of ftone, two ftories high, and a great
orchard near it, We were every where
well received, and ftayed over night with
the above-mentioned countryman. . We
faw no other marks of autumn,- than that
feveral fruits of this feafon were already
ripe. For befides this all the trees were yet
as green, and the ground {till as,much co-
vered with flowers, as in our fummer.
Thoufands of frogs croaked all the night
long in the marfhes and brooks. | Thelo-
cufts and grafshoppers made likewife fuch a
great noife, that it was hardly pofflible for
one perfon to underftand another... The
trees too, were full of all forts of birds,
which by the variety of their fine plumage,
delighted the eye, while the infinite varie-
ty of their tunes were continually re-echoed.

Tue orchards, along which we paffed to-
day, were only enclofed by hurdles. But
they contained all kinds of fine fruit.. We
wondered at firft very much when our lead-
er leaped over the hedge into the orchards,
and gathered fome agreeable fruit for us.
But our aftonifhment was ftill greater, when
we {aw that the people in the garden were

fo

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 71

{o little concerned at it, as not even to look
at us. But our companion told us, that the
people here were not fo exact in regard to
a few fruits, as they are in other countries
where the foil is not fo fruitful in them.
We afterwards found very frequently. that
the country people in Sweden and Finland
guarded their turneps more carefully, than -
the people here do the moft exquifite fruits.
September the 19th. As I walked this
morning into the fields, I obferved that a

copious dew was fallen; for the grafs was

as ‘wet as if it had rained. ‘The leaves of
the plants and trees, had contracted fo
much moifture, that the drops ran down.
I found on this occafion that the dew was

not only on the fuperior, but likewife on y.
the inferior fide of the leaves. I therefore

carefully confidered many leaves both of

trees and of other plants; both of thofe

which are more above, and of thofe which
are nearer to the ground. But I found in
all of them, that both fides of the leaves
were equally bedewed, except thofe of the
Verbafcum Thapfus, or great Mullein, which
though their fuperior fide was pretty well
covered with the dew, yet their inferior

had but a little. |
Every countryman, even a common
peafant, has commonly an orchard near
Ba his

72 September 1948.

his houfe, in which all forts of fruit, fach”
as peaches, apples, pears, cherries, . and:
others, are in plenty. The peaches were
now almoft ripe. They are rare in Europe,
particularly in Sweden, for in that country
hardly any people befides the rich tafte
them. But here every countryman had an
orchard full of peach trees, which were
covered with fuch quantities of fruit, that
we could fcarcely walk in the orchard,
without treading upon thofe peaches which
were fallen off; many of which were always
Jeft on the ground, and only part of them
was fold in town, and the reft was confu-
med by the family and itrangers 5 for every
one that paffed by, was at liberty to go in-
to the orchard, and to gather as many of
them as|he wanted. Nay, this fine fruit
was frequently given to the fwine.

Tus fruit is however fometimes kept
for winter ufe, and for this purpofe they
are prepared in the following manner.
The fruit is cut into four parts, the ftone
thrown away, and the fruit put upon a
thread, on which they are expofed to the
funfhine in the open air, till they are fuffi-
ciently dry. They are then put into a vef-
fel for winter. But this manner of drying
them is not very good, becaufe the rain of
this feafon very saat fpoils and putrifies

them,

Pe nafy lvanta ’ P hiladelphia z ' 7 3

them, whilft they hang in the open air.
For this reafon a different method is fol-
lowed by others, which is by far the moft
eligible. The peaches are as before cut
into four parts, are then either put upon a
thread, or laid upon a board, and fo hung
up in the air when the fun fhines. Being
dried in fome meafure, or having loft their
juice by this means, they are put into an
oven, out of which the bread has but juft
been taken, and are left in it fora while.
But they are foon taken out and brought
into the frefh air; and after that they are
again put into the oven, and this is
repeated feveral times till they are as dry as
they ought to be. For if they were dried
up at once in the oven, they would fhrivel
up too much, and lofe part of their flavour.
They are then put up and kept for the
winter. They are either baked into tarts
and pyes, or boiled and prepared as dried
apples and pears are in Sweden. Several
people here dry and preferve their apples in
the fame manner as their peaches.

Tue peach trees, have, as I am told,
been firft planted here by the Europeans.
But at prefent they fucceed very well, and
require even lefs care, than our apple and
pear trees.

- Tue orchards have feldom other fruit

i i than

74 September 1748.

than apples and peaches. Pear trees are
fcarce,in this province, and thofe that
had any of them, had planted them in
their orchards. They likewife have cher-
ry trees in the orchards, but commonly on
the fides of them towards the houfe, or
along the enclofures. Mulberry trees are
planted on fome hillocks near the houfe,
and fometimes even in the court yards of
the houfe. The black walnut trees, or
Fuglans nigra, grow partly on hills, and in
fields near the farm-houfes, and partly along
the enclofures ; but moft commonly in the
forefts. No other trees of this kind, ‘are
made ufe of here. The chefnuts are left
in the fields; here and there is one in adry
field or in a wood.

Tue Hibifcus efculentus, or Okra,* is a
plant which grows wild in the Weft Indies,
but is planted in the gardens here. The
fruit, which is a long pod, is cut whilftit
is green, and boiled in foups, which there-
by become as thick as pulfe. This difh is
reckoned a dainty by fome people, and ef-
pecially by the negroes.

Capsicum annuum, or Guinea pepper is
likewife planted in gardens. When the

fruit

_ .* In Miller’s Garden, Diétionary, it is called Ketmia Ind:-
ca folio ficus, frudiu pentagono, recurvo efculento, graciliori, et
dongiori.

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 7%

fruit is ripe it is almoft entirely red, it is
put to a roafted-or boiled piece of meat, a
little of it being ftrewed. upon it, or mixed
with the broth. Befides this, cucumbers
are pickled with it. Or the pods are
pounded whilft they are yet tender, and be-
ing mixed with falt are preferved in a bot-
tle; and this {pice is ftrewed over roafted
or boiled meat, or fried fifh, and gives them
a very fine tafte. But the fruit by itfelf is

as biting as common pepper. :
Tus country contains many fpecies of
the plant, which Dr. Linnaeus calls Rhus,
and the moft common is the Rhus fohis pin-
natis ferratis lanceolates retrinque nudis, or the
Rhus glaora. The Engijfh call this plant
Sumach. But the Swedes here, have no
particular name for it, and therefore make
ufe of the Engljh name. Its berries or
fruits are red. They are made ufe of for
dying, and afford a colour like their own.
This tree is like a weed in this country, for
if a corn-field is left uncultivated for fome
few years together, it grows on it in plen-
ty, fince the berries are {pread every where
by the birds.. And when the ground is
to be ploughed the roots ftop the plough
very much. The fruit ftays on the fhrub
during the whole winter. But the leaves
drop very early in autumn, after'they are
| —*"" tugned

76 September 1748.

turned reddifh, like thofe of our Swedih
mountain afh. The branches boiled with
the berries afford a black ink like tin@ture.
The boys eat the berries, there being no
danger of falling fick after the repatt ; ~but
they are very four. They feldom grow
above three yards high. On cutting the
ftem, it appears that it contains nothing
but pith. [have cut feveral in this man-
ner, and found that fome were ten years
old; but that moft of them were above
one year old. When the cut is made, a
yellow juice comes out between the bark
and the wood.' One or two of the moft
outward. circles are white, but the inner-
moft are of a yellowifh green. Itis eafy
to diftinguifh them one from another.
They contain a very plentiful pith, the
diameter of which is frequently half an
inch, and fometimes more.- It is brown,
and fo loofe that it is eafily pufhed out
by a little ftick, in the fame manner as
the pith of the elder tree, rafpberry and
blackberry bufhes.' This fumach grows
near the enclofures, round the corn-fields,
but efpecially on fallow ground. The wood
feemed to burn well, and made no great

crackling in the fire.
September the zoth. In the morning we
walked in the fields and woods near the
town,

ee

Penfyloania, Philadelphia. 7

town, partly for gathering feeds, and partly
for gathering plants for my herbal, which
was our principal occupation ; and in the
autumn of this year, we fent part of our
collection to Exgland and Sweden. |
» A species of Rhus, which was frequent
in the marfhes here was called the poi/on |
tree by both Engli/b and Swedes. Some of
the former gave it the name of -fwamp-
fumach, and my country-men gave it the
fame name. Dr. Linneus in his botanical
works calls it Rous Vernix. Sp. pl. 1.
380. Flora Virgin. 45. An incifion being
made into the tree, a whitifh yellow
juice, which has a naufeous {mell, comes
out between the bark and the wood. This
tree is not known for its good qualities,
but greatly fo for the effect of its poifon,
which though it is noxious to fome people,
yet does not in the leaft affeG@ others. And

therefore one perfon can handle the tree _.
as he pleafes, cut it, peel off its bark, A‘

tub it, or the wood upon his hands, fmell.at
it, fpread the juice upon his {kin, and make
more experiments, with no inconvenience
to himfelf ; another perfon on the contrary
dares not meddle with the tree, while its
wood is frefh, nor can he venture to touch
a hand which has handled it, nor even to
expofe himfelf to the fmoak of a fite which
Ws made with this wood, without foon

‘feeling

78 _ September 1748.

feeling its bad effefis; for the face, the
hands, and frequently the whole body fwells
exceflively, and is affected with a very accute’
pain. . Sometimes bladders or blifters arife
in great plenty, and make the ‘fick perfon
look as if he was infected by a leprofy. In
fome people the external thin fkin, or cuticle,
peels of in a few days, as is the cafe when
a perfon has fcalded or burnt any part of
his body. Nay, the nature of fome perfons”
will not even allow them to approach the

place where the tree grows, or to'expofe

themfelves to the wind, when it carries the
effluvia or exhalations of this tree with it,
without letting them feel the inconvenience
of the fwelling, which I have juft now
defcribed. Their eyes are fometimes fhut
up for one, or two and more days together
by the {welling. _1 know two brothers,
one of whom could without danger handle
this tree in what manner he pleafed, where-
as the other could not come near it with-
out {welling. A perfon fometimes does not
know that he has touched this poifonous
plant, or that he has been near it, before
his face and hands fhews it by their fwel~
ling. I have known old people who were
more afraid of this tree than of a viper;
and I was acquainted with a perfon who
merely by the noxious exhalations of it

TN
« =

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 79

was {welled-to fuch a degree, that he was as |
ftiff as a log of wood, and could only be
turned. about in fheets.

Qn relating in the winter of the year
1750, the poifonous qualites of the {wamp
fumach to my Yung firem, who attended
me on. my travels, he only laughed, and
looked upon the whole as a fable, in
which opinion he was confirmed by: his
having is handled. the tree the autumn
before, cut many branches of it, which he
had carried for a good while in his hand in
order to preferve its feeds, and put many
into the herbals, and allthis, without feel-
ing the Jeaft inconvenience. He would
therefore, being a kind of philofopher in

his own way, take nothing for granted of

which he had no fufficient proofs, efpeci-
ally as he had his own experience in the
fummer of the year 1749, to fupport the
contrary opinion. . But in the next fummer
his fyftem of philofophy was overturned.
For his hands {welled and he felt a violent
pain; and itching in his eyes as foon as
he touched the tree, and this inconvenience
not only attended him when he meddled
with this kind of fumach, but even when
he had any thing to do with the Rhus ra-

— dicans, ov that {pecies of fumach which

climbs along the trees, and is not by far fo
a3 poifonous

80 September 1748.

anceps asthe former. By this adventure
ie was fo convinced of the power’ of the
poifon tree, that I could not eafily perfuade
him to gather more feeds of it for me.
But he not only felt the noxious effects of
it in fummer when he was very hot, but
even in. winter when both he and the wood
were cold. Hence it appears that though
a perfon be fecured againft the power of
this poifon for fome time, yet that in length
of time he may be affected with it as well, |
as people of a weaker conftitution. |)”

I wave likewife tried experiments of
every kind with the poifon tree on°myfelf.
I have f{pread its juice upon my hands, cut
and broke its branches, peeled off its bark,
and rubbed my hands with it, fmelt at it,
carried pieces of it in my bare hands, and
repeated all this frequently, without feel=
_ ing the baneful effects fo commonly annex-

ed-to it; but I however once experienced
that the poifon of the fumach was not en-
‘tirely without effect upon me. On a hot
day in fummer, as I was in fome degree of
perfpiration, I cut a branch of the tree, and
carried it| in my hand for about half an
hour together, and {melt at it now and
then. I felt no effects from it, till-in the
evening. But next morning I awoke with
a violent itching of my eye-lids, ‘and the
parts

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. - 81

parts thereabouts, and this was fo painful,
that I could hardly keep my hands from
it. It ceafed after I had wafhed my eyes
for a while, with very cold water. But
my eye-lids were very ftiff all that day.
At night the itching returned, ‘and in the
morning as I awoke, I felt it as ill as the
morning before, and I ufed the fame reme-
dy againft it. However it continued almoft
for a whole week together, and my eyes
were very red, and my eye-lids were with
difficulty moved, during all that time. My
pain ceafed entirely afterwards. About the
fame time, I had {pread the juice of the
tree very thick upon my hand. Three days
after they occafioned blifters, which foon
went off without affeQing me much. [|
have not experienced any thing more of the
effects of this plant, nor had I any defire fo
todo. However I found that it could not

exert its power upon me, when I was not °\

perfpiring.
>I wave never heard that the poifon of
this Sumach has been mortal ; but the pain
ceafes after a few days duration. The na-
tives formerly made their flutes of this tree,
becaufe it has a great deal of pith. Some
people affured me, that a perfon fuffering
from its noifome exhalations, would eafily
recover by {preading a mixture of the wood,
F burnt

82 September 1748.

burnt to charcoal, and hog’s lard, upon the
{welled parts. Some afferted that they had
really tried this remedy. In fome places
this tree is rooted out on purpofe, that
its poifon may not affect the workmen. .

I RECEIVED to day, feveral curiofities
belonging to the mineral kingdom, which
were collected in the country. The fol-
lowing were thofe which were moft worth
attention. The firft was a white, and quite
tranfparent cryftal.* Many of this kind
are found in Pen/fylvania, in feveral kinds of
ftone, efpecially in a pale-grey limeftone.
The pieces are of the thicknefs and length
of the little finger, and commonly as tran-
{parent as poffible. But I have likewife
got cryftals here, of the length of a foot,
and of the thicknefs of a middle-fized man’s
leg. They were not fo tranfparent as the
former.

THE cubic Pyrites of Bifbop Browallius,-+
was of a very regular texture. But its
cubes were different in fize, for in fome of

the

* Nitrum Cryftallus nowt Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p- 84.
Cryftallus hexagona pellucida non Colorata. Wallerius : Mihers:
logy, p- 100. Cryftallus montana, colourlefs cryftal. For-
frer’s Introd. to Mineralogy, p. 13.

+ Pyrites cryftallinus, Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p. 113. Marcha-
fit@e hexaétdrice teffélares. Wallerius’s Mineralogy, p. 211.
Marcafita, vel cryftalli pyritacet, Marcafites, Forfter’s Introd.:
to Mineralogy, p. 39.

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 8,
the cubes, the planes of the fides only

amounted to a quarter of an inch, but in
the biggeft cubes, they were full two inch-
es. Some were excecdingly glittering, fo
that it was very eafy to be perceived that
they confifted of fulphureous pyrites. But
in fome one or two fides only, glittered fo
well, and the others were dark-brown.
Yet moft of thefe marcafites had this fame
colour on all the fides. On breaking them
they fhewed the pure pyrites. They are
found near Lancafter in this province, and
fometimes lie quite above the ground;
but commonly they are found at the
depth of eight feet or more from the
furface of the ground, on digging wells and
the like. Mr. Heffehus had feveral pieces
of this kind of ftone, which he made ufe of
in his work. He firft burnt them, then
pounded or ground them to a powder, and
at laft rubbed them ftill finer in the ufual
way, and this afforded him a fine reddifh-
brown colour. :
Few dlack pebbles are found in this pro-
vince, which on the other hand yields ma-
ny kinds of marble, efpecially a white one,
with pale-grey bluifh fpots, which is found.
in a quarry at the diftance of a few Engli/h
miles from Philadelphia, and is very good
ee ee for

84 September 1748.

for working, though it is not one of the
fineft kind of marbles. They make many
tombitones and tables, enchafe chimneys
and doors, floors of marble flags in the
rooms, and the like of this kind of marble.
A quantity of this commodity is hippes to
different parts of America.

Muscovy gilafs,* is found in many pla-
ces hereabouts, and fome pieces of it are
pretty lar Bes and as fine as thofe which. are
brought from Rufia.. I have feen fome of
them, which were a foot and more in
length. And J have feveral in my collec-
tion that are nearly nine inches {quare. The
Swedes on their firft arrival here made their
windows of this native glafs. -

A PALE grey fine limeftone,+ of a com-
pact texture, lies in many places hereabouts,
and affords a fine lime. Some pieces. of it
are fo full of fine tranfparent cryftals, that
almoft half of the ftene confifts of nothing
elfe. But befides this limeftone, they make

lime

* Mica membranacea, Linn. Syk. nat. 3. p. 58.

Micamembranacea pellucidiffima flexilis alba, Wallerius’s Min.

. 120.

Ruffian glais, Mufcovy glafs, Mfinglafs, Vitrum ruthenicumy
Vitrum Maria. Forfter’s Introd. to Mineralogy, p. 18.

+ Marmor rude, Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p. 41.

Calcareus particulis Seintillantibus. Wall. Min.

Calcareus fcintillans, glittering limeftone. F orfters Introd?
to Mineral. p. g.

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 85

lime néar the fea-fhore, from oyfter fhells,
and bring it to town in winter, which is
faid to be worfe for mafonry, but better
for white-wafhing, than that which is got
from the limeftone. . jet
~ CoAts have not yet been found in Pen-
fyloania ; but people pretend to have feen
them higher up in the country among the
natives. Many péople however agree that
they are met with in great quantity more
to the north, near Cape Breton.*®
Tue ladies make wine from fome of the
fruits of the land. They principally take
white and red currants for that purpofe,
fince the fhrubs of this kind are very plen-
tiful in the gardens, and fucceed very well.
An old failor who had frequently been in
New-foundland, told me that red currants
grew wild in that country in great quanti-
ty. They likewife make a wine of ftraw-
berries, which grow in great plenty in the
woods, but are fourer than the Sweai/h
ones. The American blackberries, or Rubus
occidentalis, are likewife made ufe of for
this purpofe, for they grow every where
about the fields, almoft as abundantly as
ONS ps thiftles

* Tus Has been confirnied, fince Cape Breton is in the
hands of the Englifh, and it is reported that the ftrata of
coals run through the whole ifle, and fome baffet out to day
near the fea-fhore, fo that this ifle will afford immenfe trea-
fures of coals, when the government will find it convenient,
to have them dug for the benefit of the Nation. F.

86 September 1748.

thiftles in Sweden, and have a very agreea=’
ble tafte. In Maryland a wine is madeof .
the wild grapes, which growin the woods —
of that province. Rafpberries and cherries
which are planted on purpofe, and taken
great care of, likewife afford a very fine
wine. . It 1s unneceflary to give an account .
of the manner of making the currant wine,
for in Sweden this art is in higher perfe@ion
than in North America.

September the 21ft. ‘THE common ua
or Liguftrum vulgare, Linn. grows among
the bufhes in thickets and woods. But I
cannot determine whether it belongs to the
indigenous plants, or to thofe which the
Englih have introduced, the fruits of which
the birds may have difperfed every where. _
The enclofures and pales are generally made
here of wooden planks and pofts.. But a —
few good ceconomifts, having already
thought of fparing the woods for future
times, have begun to plant quick hedges
round their fields; and to this purpofe they
take the above-mentioned privet, which
they plant in a little bank, which is thrown
up for it. The foil every where hereabouts
is aclay mixed with fand, and of courfe
very loofe. The privet hedges however,
are only adapted to the tamenefs of the
cattle and other animals here; for the hogs
| all

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 87

all have a. triangular yoke about © their
necks, and the other cattle are not ‘very
‘unruly. But in fuch places where the cat-
tle break through the enclofures, hedges of
this kind would make but a poor defence.
The people who live in the neighbourhood
of Philadelphia, are obliged to keep =
hogs enclofed.
» In the afternoon I rode with Mr. Peter
Cock, who was a merchant, born at Kar/-
Seren in Sweden, to his country feat, about
nine miles from the town, to the north-
weit. 7
. Tue country on both fides of the road
was covered with a great foreft. The trees
were all with annual leaves, and I did not
fee a fingle fir'or pine. Moft of the trees
were different forts of oak. But we like-
wife faw chefnut trees, walnut trees, locuft
trees, appletrees, hiccory, blackberry bufh-
es, and the like. The ground ceafed to
be fo even as it was before, and began to
look more like the Exgij/h ground, diverfi-
fied with hills and vallies. We found nei-
ther mountains nor great ftones, and the
wood was fo much thinned, and the ground
fo uniformly even, that we could fee a great
way between the trees, under which we
rode without any inconvenience ; for there -
were no bufhes'to ftop us. In fome places
F 4 where

88 September 1748.

where the foil was thrown up, we faw
fome little ftones of that kind of which the
houfes here are fo generally built. I. intend
to deferibe them in the fequel. nt
_ As we went on in the wood, we conti-
nually faw at moderate diftances little fields,
which had been cleared of the wood. Each
of thefe was a farm. Thefe farms were
commonly very pretty, and a walk of trees.
frequently led from them to the high-
road. The houfes were all built of brick,
or of the ftone which is here every where
to be met with. Every countryman, even
though he were the pooreft peafant, had an
orchard with apples, peaches, chefnuts,
walnuts, cherries, quinces, and fuch fruits,
and fometimes we faw the vines climbing
along them. The vallies were frequently
provided with little brooks’ which contain-
ed a cryftal ftream. The corn on the fides
of the road, was almoft all mown; and no
other grain befides maize and buckwheat
was ftanding. The former was to be met
with near each farm, in greater or lefler
quantities ; it grew very well and to a great
length, the ftalks being from fix to ten foot
high, and covered with fine green leaves.
Buckwheat likewife was not very uncom-
mon, and in fome places the people were
beginning to reap it. I intend in ‘the fe-
| quel

Penfylvuania, Germantown. 89

quel to be more particular about the quali-
ties and ufe of thefe kinds of corn.

_ Arrer aride of fix Engh/b miles, we .

came to Germantown; this town has only
one ftreet, but is near two Engh/h miles
long. It is for the greateft part inhabited
by Germans, who from time to time come
from their country to North America, and
fettle here, becaufe they enjoy fuch
privileges, as they are not poflefied of any
where elfe. Moft of the inhabitants are
tradefmen, and make almoft every thing in
fuch quantity and perfeQion, that in a
fhort time this province will want very lit-
tle from England, its mother country.
Moft of the houfes were built of the ftone
which is mixed with glimmer, and found
every where towards Philadelphia, but is
more fearce further on. Several houfes
however were made of brick. They were
commonly two ftories high, and fometimes
higher. The roofs confifted of fhingles of
the white cedar wood. Their fhape refem-~
bled that of the roofs in Sweden, but the
angles they formed at the top were either
obtuie; right angled, or acute, according
as the flopes were fteep or eafy. They
fomeétimes formed either the half of an
octogon, or the half of a dodecagon.
_ Manyoof the roofs were made in fuch a
| manner,

go September 1748.

manner, that they could be walked upon;
having a baluftrade round them... Many of
the upper ftories had balconies before them,
from whence the people had a. profpect in-
to the ftreet. The windows, even thofe in
the third ftory, had fhutters. . Each houfe
had a fine garden. The town had three
churches, one for the lutherans, .another
for the reformed proteftants, and the third
for the quakers. The inhabitants were fo
numerous, that the ftreet was always. full.
The baptifts have likewife a meeting-houtfe.
_ September the 22d. After I had been at
church, I employed the remainder of the
day in converfing with the moft confidera-
ble people in town, who had lived here for
a long while, and I enquired 4 into the curi-
ofities hereabouts.

Mr. Cock had a. fine Soria near his
country feat; it came from. a fandy: hill,
and afforded water enough conftantly to fill,
a little brook. Juft above this {pring Mr.
Cock had erected a building from thofe
above-mentioned glittering {tones, into
which were put many, jugs, and other ear-
then vefiels full of milk; for it kept very
well in cold water during the great heat
with which the fummer is*attended here.

I AFTERWARDS met with many houfes
which were fituated like this on fprings,

: and

Penfyluania, Germantown. gt

meat and milk freth.
~ AtmosT all the enclofures round the
corn-fields and meadows hereabouts, were
made of planks faftened in a horizontal di-.
rection. ‘I only perceived a hedge of privet
in one fingle place. The enclofures were
not made like ours, for the people here
take pofts from four to fix feet in height,
and make two or three holes into them, fo
that there was a diftance of two feet and
above between them. Such a poft does the
fame fervice as two, and fometimes three
poles are fearce fufficient. The pofts were
faftened in the ground, at two or three fa-
thoms diftance from each other, and the
holes in them kept up the planks, which
were nine inches, and fometimes a foot
broad, and lay above each other from one
poft to the next. Such an enclofure there-
fore looked at a diftance like the hurdles
in which we enclofe the fheep at night
in Sweden. They were really no clofer
than hurdles, being only deftined to keep
out the greater animals, fuch as cows and
horfes. The hogs are kept near the farm-
houfes every where about Philadelphia, and
therefore this enclofure does not need to be
made clofer on ‘their account. Chefnut
trees were commonly made ufe of: for this
purpofe,

and thereforé were deftined to keep the

g2 September 1748.

purpofe, becaufe this wood keeps longeft
againft putrefaction, and an enclofure made
of it can ftand for thirty years together.
But where no chefnut wood was to be got,
the white, and likewife the black oaks were
taken for that purpofe. Of all kinds of
wood, that of the red cedar holds out the
longeft. The greateft quantity of it is
bought up here; for near Philadelphia it is
not plentiful enowgh, to be made ufe of for
enclofures ; however there are many enclo-
fures near the town made of this wood. —
Tue beft wood for fuel is every body’s
opinion is the hiccory, or a fpecies of wal
nut; for it heats well; but is not good for
enclofures, fince it cannot well withftand
putrefaction when it is in the open air.
The white and black oaks are next in
goodnefs for fuel. The woods with which
Philadelphia is farrounded, would lead one
to conclude, that fuel muft be cheap there.
But it is far from being fo, becaufe the
great and high foreft near the town is the
property of fome people of quality and for-
tune, who do not regard the money which
they could make of them. They do not
fell fo much as they require for their own
ufe, and much lefs would they fell it to
others. But they leave the trees for times
to come, expecting that,wood will beeome
much

Penfyluanta, Germantown. 93

much more fcarce. However they fell it
to joiners, coach-makers, and other artifts,
who pay exorbitantly for it, For a quan-
tity of hiccory of eight foot in length, and
four in depth, and the pieces. being like-

wife four foot long, they paid at prefent

eighteen fhillings of Penfy/vanian currency.
But the fame quantity of oak only came to
twelve fhillings. The people who came
at prefent to fell wood in the market were
peafants, who lived at.a great diftance from
the town. Every body complained that
fuel in the fpace of a few years, was rifen
in price to many times as much again as. it
had been, and to account for this, the fol-
lowing reafons were given: the town is
encreafed to fuch a degree, as to be four or
fix times bigger, and more populous than
what fome old people have known it to be,
when they were young. Many brick-kilns
have been made hereabouts, which require
a great quantity of wood. ‘The country is

‘likewife more cultivated than it ufed to be, -

and confequently great woods have been
cut down for that purpofe; and the farms
built in thofe places likewife confume a
quantity of wood. Laftly, they melt iron
out of the ore, in feveral places about the
town, and this work always goes on with-
Qut interruption. For thefe reafons it is
1 , concluded

Q4 September 1748.

concluded in future times PAz/adelphia will
be obliged to pay a great price for wood. —

Tue wine of blackberries, which has a
very fine tafte, is made in the following
manner. The juice of the blackberries is
prefied out, and put into a veflel; with half
a gallon of this juice, an equal quantity of
water is well mixed. Three pounds of
brown fugar are added to this mixture,
which muft then ftand for a while, and
after that, it is fitfor ufe. Cherry wine is
made in the fame manner, but care muft
be taken that when the juice is preffed
out, the ftones be not crufhed, for they
give the wine a bad tafte.

Tuey make brandy from peaches here,
after the following method. The fruit is
cut afunder, and the ftones are taken out. ©
The pieces of fruit are then put into a
vefiel, where they are left for three weeks
or a month, till they are quite putrid.
They are then put into the diftilling vefiel,
and the brandy is made and afterwards dif-
tilled over again. This brandy is not good
for people who have a more refined tafte,
but it is only for the common kind of |
people, fuch as workmen and the like.

_Appxes yield a brandy, when prepared’
in the fame manner as the peaches. But
for this purpofe thofe. apples are chiefly

taken

Penfylvania, Germantown. 95

taken which fall from the tree before they
are ripe. :

Tue American Night-fhade, or Phytolacca
decandra, Linn. S. N. grows. abundantly
near the farms, on the highroad in hedges
and bufhes, and in. feveral places in the
fields. .Whenever I came to any of thefe
places I was fure of finding this plant in
great abundance. Moft of them had red
berries, which grew in bunches, and look-
ed very tempting, though they were not at
all fit for eating. Some of thefe plants
were yet in flower. In fome places, fuch
as in the hedges, and near the houfes, they
fometimes grow two fathom high. - But
in the fields were always low; yet I could
no where perceive that the cattle had eaten
of it. A German of this place who was a
confectioner told me, that the dyers gather-
ed the roots of this plant and made a fine
red dye of them.

Here are feveral fpecies of Sguirrels.
The ground. Squirrels, or Sciurus ftriatus,
Linn. 8. N. are commonly kept in cages,
becaufe they are very pretty : but they can-
not be entirely tamed. The greater Sguir-
rels, or Sciurus cinereus, Linn. S. N. fre-
quently do a great deal of mifchief in. the
plantations, but. particularly deftroy the
maize. For they climb.up the ftalks, cut

| the

96 September 1748.

the ears in pieces and eat only the loofe and
{weet kernel which lies quite in the infide.
They fometimes come by hundreds upon a
maize-field, and then deftroy. the whole
of a countryman in one night. “In
Maryland therefore every one is‘obliged an-
nually to bring four {quirrelsy and their
heads are given to the furveyor,.to prevent
deceit. In other provinces every'body that
kills {quirrels, received twopence ’a”piete
for them from. the public, ondelivering
the-heads. Their fleth is eaten and feck-

oned a dainty. ©The fkins are fold, *but’a
not much efteemed. Squirrels*aré the-chter
food of the rattle-fnake and other “{nakes,
and-it was a common fancy withmthe=peo-
ple:hereabouts, that when the’ rattle’ fitake
lay on the groundy: and “fixed its'eyes upon
a fquirrel, the latter would \be*as ‘it’ ‘were
fafcinated, and that though itewere on'the
uppermott branches of a tree,. “yet it would
come down by: degrees; till it-Teaped into
the {nake’s mouth. » The fnakesthem licks
the little animal ‘feveral times; and makes
it wet all over with its fpittle; that it may
go-downthe throat eafiers’ Itthernfwallows
the whole {quirrel at once: “When the
fnake has: made fuch»a good» meal, it lies
Geis to:reft without any concerns) |
THE © segue, Sania ‘Linnaeus i ™
the

Penfyluania, Germantown. 97

the memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sci-
ences, has defcribed by the name of Urfus
cauda elongata, and which he calls Urfus
Lotor, in his Syftema Nature, is here call-
ed Raccoon. It is found very frequently,
and deftroys many chickens. It is hunted
by dogs, and when it runs upon a tree to
fave itfelf, a man climbs upon the tree af-
ter it, and fhakes it down to the ground,
_ where the dogs kill it. The fleth is eaten,
and is reputed to tafte well. The bone of
its male parts is made ufe of for a tobacco-
ftopper. The hatters purchafe their fkins,
and make hats out of the hair, which are
next in goodnefs to beavers. The tail is
worn round the neck in winter, and there-
fore is likewife valuable. The Raccoon is
frequently the food of {nakes.

Some Englihmen aflerted that near the
river Potomack in Virginia, a great quantity
of oyfter fhells were to be met with, and
that they themfelves had feen whole moun-
tains of them. The place where they are
found is faid to be about two Enghi/b miles
diftant from the fea-fhore. The proprietor
of that ground burns lime out of them.
This ftratum of oyfter-thells is two fathom
and more deep. Such quantities of fhells
have likewife been found in other places,
efpecially in New York, on digging in the
ost G ground ;

98 | September. 1748.

ground ; ; and in‘one place, at ‘theo diftance
‘of ‘fome® Engi miles from 'the fea, ca vat
quantity of oyfter-(hells, and of other thells
was found: Somme people’ conjectured’ that
the ‘natives had formerly lived in'that place,
and°had left the fhells” of thée'oyfters which
they had confumed, in-fuch: ‘great heaps. But
others could not*conceive how it happened
that they were thrown’ in fuch“immenfe
quantities ‘all into one place: WuUWQnetd@nhs
Every one is’ of opinion thatthe Ame-.
rican favages were a very goodnaturéd peo-
ple; if they were'not attacked! ‘Nobody is
fo ftrit in keeping his wordy as a favage.
iver anyone of their allies cometo vifitthens,
they thew him more ‘kindnefs) ‘and® greater
endéavours to ferve him, than he could have
expected from his own countrymen. *Mr.
Cock ‘gave’ me the’ following rélation; “asa
‘proof of their integrity. About two. years
ago, an Enghjb merchant traveHingamonett
fie favages, ‘in order’ to’ fell them necéffa-
yiés, ‘and to buy other goods; was fecretly
‘kifled, ‘without the murderer's being found
out. But about a year after, the favages
found out the guilty perfon amongftthem=
‘felves: “They immediately’ tookwhim® up,
bound his hands on his back; and thus fent
‘him with a guard to the governor at Phila-
delphia, and tent him word, ‘that they could
no

| Penfylvania, Germantown. 99

no longer. acknowledge this wretch,,(who
thad been) fo wicked towards an Engh/bman)
as their,countryman, .and. therefore, would
have nothing more. to, do, with .him, and
that they delivered him jup to the, gover-
nor, to, be, punithed. for his villainy. as the
Jaws of Fingland direct. . This Indian.,was
afterwards hanged at Philadelphia.
»\> TuHeir, good, natural, parts are proved. by
the following account, which many people
have givem:me-as a true one. When they
fend their, ambafiadors to the Exgh/b colo-
nies, in order to fettle things of confequence
with.the governor, they fit. down.on. the
ground; as,foon as they come to his audi-
ence, and;hear with great attention the go-
vernor’s.demands which they. are to.make
an/ an{wer,to. . His,demands are fometimes
many... Yet, they have only a ftick in their
hand, and:make their marks. on it. with a
-knife,, without writing any thing elfe. down.
But-when-they return-the next day to give
in-their refolutions, they, anfwer all. the go-
vernor’s, articles-in. the fame order,.in which
he.delivered them, without leaving one out,
or changing;the order, and give fuch accu-
rate anfwers, as if. they bad an account of
them,at full length. i in writing.

Mr: Steidorn,related.another ftory, which
igave me; great pleafure.. He faid he had
ert: G2 been

100 September I 748

been at. New York, and Lad found a vene-
rable Old American favage amongft’ feveral
others inaninn) Thisold man ‘began to talk
with \S/dorn as foon'as the liquorwas get=
ting ‘the better of his head, and boafted’that
he could write and read in Englifh.o \Sleidorn
therefore defited ‘leave'to afl! a” ‘queftion,
which the old ‘man ‘readily granted: S/emdorn
then ‘afked’ him}; “whether “he ‘knew who
was firtt circumcifed? and theold man im-
mediately an{wered, Father Abraham ;but
at the fame ‘time’ afked ‘leave to'propofe:a
queftion in his turn, which Sleidorn grant-
ed; the old man then faid,) who”'was 'the
firt quaker? Siidorn {aid it was uncertain,
that fome took one perfon forty and forme
another; but the cunning ‘old’ fellow told
him, you are miftaken, fir;\° Mordeca? was
the firft quaker, for he. would tor take’ off
his‘hat to Haman.’ Many. of the* favages,
‘who’are yet heathens; are’ faid' to:‘have
fome obfcure notion ‘of the deluge: oBut I
am Convinced from my ‘own experience,

nee they aré not‘atiall’acquainted with it.
‘Tmet ‘with people here who maintained
shat giants had formerly lived’ in-thefe parts,
andthe following particulars confirméd them
in‘ this opinion.” A’ few’ yearsago’ fome
people digging in the ground, met with a
grave which contained human bones of an
aftonifh-

Penfjlvania, Germantown. 101

aftonithing fize. . The) Ti ibja.i is faid. to have
Seemanod, feet. long, ‘and the. os, femoris
to-have,meafured,as much. .The.teeth are.
likiewife.faid) to. have, been of a fize ptopor-
tioned’to.the.reft.. But more bones’ of. this
kind, have not yet. been found. Perfons
{killed in,.anatomy, who have feen thefe
bones, have declared-that they were human
bones. . One of the teeth has-been fent to
Hamburgh, to a perfon who colleéted.natu-
ral curiofities.. Among the favages, in the
neighbourhood of the place where the bones
were,.found,, there is an account. handed
down. -through many. generations from fa-
thers to-children,, that, in this neighbour-
hood,, on-the, banks of a river, there lived
a,very.tall, and itrong man, .in. ancient
times,; who |carried the, people over the ri-
ver on}his' back, and’ waded in the water,
though it, was,very deep... Every . body.’ to
whom he.did.this fervice gave him fome
maize, fome,fkins of animals,., or, the like.
In fine,he-got -his livelyhood by this means,
and..was as it) were the ferryman of .thofe
who, wanted to pafs the river.

oo ‘han, foil,-here confitts. for. the greateft
-part of fand, which is more or lefs mixed
with, clay. Both the-fand and the clay, are
of Sresiaavne pale bricks... To judge by

micof} G 3 appear-

102 September 1748.

appearance ‘the ground was" ‘none’ of the
beft; and this conjeture was verified by
the inhabitants of the country. © ‘When 2
corn-field has been” obliged to bear’ the
fame kind of corn for three! years together,
it does not after that produce any thing at all
if it be not well manured, or fallowed’ for
fome years. Manure is very difficult to"be
got, and ‘therefore people rather leave’ the
field uncultivated. In that interval-it ‘ts
covered with all forts of plants’ and ‘trees ;
and the countryman in the’ mean” GY
cultivates a piece of ground which has till
fhen been fallow, or he chufes apart of the
ground which has never been’ ploughed be-
fore, and he can in both cafes “ be’ pretty
fure of a plentiful crop. This method
can here be ufed with great convenience.

For the foil is loofe, fo that it can’ eafily be
ploughed, and every countryman’ has \¢om-
monly a great deal of land for his property.

The cattle here are neither houfed’ in win-
ter, ‘nor tended ‘in’ the’ fields, and ‘for this
reafon they cannot ‘gather : a lofficient et
tity of dung.

Att the ‘cattle’ ‘has’ bee “originally
brought over from. Europe." The’ natives
have never had any, and at prefent’ few of
them care to get any. But the cattle dege-

“ neérates

Penfyluania, Germantown. 103

nerates. by.degrees here, and becomes fmvall-
er. «For the cows, horfes, fheep, and hogs,
are. all ;larger in. England, though. thofe
which are brought over are of that breed:
ut;.the, firft generation decreafes a little, —
and the, third and fourth is of the fame fize
with: the cattle already common here. The
climate, the, foil, and the food, altogether
contribute. their fhare towards producing
this: change...
_. Lnsis-remarkable that the inhabitants of |
the -country,, commonly fooner acquire un-
derftanding, but likewife grow fooner old
than the. people in Europe. It is nothing
uncommon,to fee little children, giving
{prightly.and ready anfwers to queftions that
are propofed;to them, fo that they feem to
have» as, much underftanding as ‘old men.
But they do not attain to fuch an age as the
Europeans, and it is almoft an unheard of
thing, that; a perfon.born in this country,
fhould live, to; be eighty or ninety years of
age. But.I only-{peak of the Europeans
that fettled. here. For the favages, or. firft
inhabitants, frequently attained a great age,
though, at prefent fuch examples are un-_
common,; which is chiefly attributed to the
greatufe of brandy, which the favages have
learnt, ‘of. the, Europeans. Thofe who are
horn in Europe attain a greater age here,
| 4. than

104 September 1748.

than thofeswho-are born here, of European
parentsioIn: thedaft war, it-plainlyappear-.
ed that thefe: new: americans: were: by. far-
lefé hardy thanothe Europeans: in: expeditis.
ons; fieges, and.long fea voyages, and died.
innuimbers. It as very dificult for:them:
to ufe themfelves'to arclimate different:from’
theiriown. ‘The women ceafe bearing chils:
dren fooner thamin Europe.io Thepdeldom,
or never have children,: after they:are:forty.
or forty-five years-old, .and:fome deave:off :
in the thirtieth, year’ of theiroage omlrenquis
red into the-caufes of this, but'no one:could:
give. me a good one. Some faid itewas\ows:
ing: to the affluence: inowhich thespeople
live,here. Some afcribed it: tos:theomcon<:
ftancy and changeablenefsnof the weather,
and believed that theresyhardly was acoun- .
try.on earth in which: the weatherschanges:
fo often:in a day, as:it-does thereo:: For if
it were ever fo hot, one could not be cer-.
tain .whether ‘ino twenty-four, hours: there
would not be a piercing colds! iNays fome-
times, the weather: wei chaageien or fix
times a day. Logo meswisds om rbsent

Tue trees in this: nea haverthe bola
qualities as its inhabitants... -For the Ahips
which are built: of repeal wood, varevby

“ nm means equal in..point of ftrengthy :to.

thofe which are: built: in: Hurope. a This as —
what

Penfyluama, Germantown. 105

what nobody attempts to contradict.) When
a fhip: which is built here, “has ferved°eight
ortwelve years it is worth little; and if
one isito be met with, which has; been in
ufe longer and is yet ferviceable, itis reck--
oned’ very iaftonifhing. It ‘is difficult to
find outithe caufes from whence ‘this’ hap>
pens. eSome lay>the fault to the badnefs
ofithe wood : others condemn’ the method:
of) building» the» thips; »which is: ‘toomake
them of*trees' whichare yet green, and have
had noetime tosdry. > [believe ‘both caufes
are:joined: orFor I found oak, which at the
utmoftshad been cut down about twelve’
years, jand was covered by a hard bark:
But upon’ taking off ‘this bark, the>wood!
belowsat was almoft:entirely rotten, and
like flour, fo that I could rub it into pow
der between my: fingers. How’ much long='
er will not-our a pec oak wrveind before
it moulders Povo = rv

» Ar night we ereturned 4 to Philadelp bia.

September the 23dz0 There are no Hares’
inthis country,: but fome animals, ‘which’

are a medium between our Hares and Rab

bets; and make a/great devaftation whenever
they get into fields of cabbage and turneps!

'Manyopeople have not been able*to find
out why the! North American plants*which
are ‘carried toxBurope and planted there, for’

the -

106 | September 1748.

the:greateft. part. flower) fo late, anddo not
get/\ripey fruit, before the, froft overtakes |
them)},although it, appears from -feveral:ae-
counts of travels, that the: winters)in; Pen-
Sylvania, and, more; fo, \thofesin New York,
New) Enugland,,and Canada, are full.as fevere
as. our Sewvedi/h winters, and therefore/are
much; feverer than -thofe,,which are. felt
ini; England. ; Several anen) of )judgment
charged me for this reafon to examine.and
enquire into this phcenomenony with all
poffible:care.. But I thall inftead-of an an=
fwer, rather give a few remarks whichol
made: upon the climate and; upon thejplants
of North America, and leave my readersyat
i to draw the -conclufions,themfelves.,
Apois true, that the winters.in Pen-
‘bamnai and much more thofe in the more
northern provinces;.are frequently as fevere
as our. S wedi/b > winters,. and: much: colder
than the, Engli/h ones, or thofeof the fouth-
ern ‘parts of, Europes Ford found,at Phila-
delpbia;, which-is above twentyydeg. more
foutherly than feveral)provinces.in Sweden,
that the thermometer. of, profeflor Celpus,
fell twenty-four deg.. below ‘the: freezing
point in |.winter..--Yet) L, wasaffured. that
the winters I {pent here, were-none.of the
coldeft, but only common: ones,; which: I
could likewife conclude from the Delaware's
not

Penfylvania, ppeabepbia. 167

not being’ | frozen trong” enough ‘to ‘bear‘a
carriage cat “Philadelphia during’ my ‘flay;
though>this - ‘often’ happens. °On confider-
ing the:breadth of ‘the river which Phave
already’ mentioned ‘im’ my defcription “of
Philadelphia, and the» difference ‘between
high and!low water; ‘which is eight Baghjh
feet ;-it will pretty plainly appear that‘a
very intenfe froft is required to: cover. ‘elie
Delaware with fuch thick ice.
Jeg) Buriitislikewife true, that ahisinaib
the winters°are fevere here, yet they are
commonly: of no long duration, ‘and I'can
juftly fay; that they do not continue’ above
two months and fometimes even lefs, at. P4z-
ladelphia's and it is fomething very uncom-
mon when’they continue for three months
together, in fo’much ‘that it'is put into the
gazettes. /' Nearer'the pole the winters are
fomewhat' longer; and inthe quite northern
parts'they areas long as the Swedi/b win-
ters. Theedaily meteorological obfervations
which I have’ made during’my ftay in Ame-
rica, and! which Pintend to ‘annex ‘at. the
end of each volume of this work, will give
ic ah in this: matter.

3) 0Tue ‘heat in fummer is eubéfibie and
withoutiintermiffion. Town I have'feen
the thermometer rifeoto nearly the fame
i, at 4oboin Finland. But the differ-

ence

108 September 1748.

ence. is,,that when the thermometer of ipro=
feffor. Celfius, rofe tothirty,, deg.,above the
freezing point once.in.two or, three fummers
at Agbho,, the fame thermometer, did not. only
for three. months together ftand,at the fame.
degree, but.even fometimes rofe, higher
not only.in, Penfylyania, but. likewile) in
New York, Albany,.and.a great, part of. Cas
nada. , During the fummers which {pent
at Philadelphia, the thermometer, has;,two
or,three times. rifen to thirty-fix, deg. above
the freezing point. It may therefore with
great certainty be faid,. that) in, Penfylwania
the greateft part of April, the whole, May;
and all the. following. months, till. ,O@oder,
are like our, Swedi/b months of. fume) and
uly. ...So,.exceftiye, and, continued,a. heat
mutt. certainly, have very great.effects,: Lhere
again, refer, to,.my; meteorological. obferyati-
ons, Jt, muft likewife.be.afcribed,.to. the
effects. of this heat.that the common melons,
the . water, melons,..and the. pampions of
different. forts are .fown: in.the,fields) with+
out any bells. or the like ;put, over, them, and
yet are ripe as early aS. Fulys farther, that
cherries, are Tipe ,at) Philadelphia, about, the
25th. of May, and that. in,|Penfy/vania, the
wheat. is frequently reaped in. the are af
UME. § yeh)
" 4,.THE whole of Soh tendhesy: ‘and ed if
not

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 109

not the whole of Oétober, are the fineft
nionths in® ‘Penfyloania, ‘for’ the’ preceding
atlés are too” ‘hot: '~ But thefe™ ‘reprefent
our uly: and half of Auguft. “The greatett
part ofthe plants aré ‘in flower in September,
and*many donot begin to open their flow-
ers’ before*the latter end’ of this month. °“I
make Ho! doubt thatthe Zoodnels of the
feafon} whichis’ enlivened by a clear fky,
anda tolerably hot fun-fhine; greatly con-
tributes’ towards this laft effort of Flora.
Yet though ‘thefe plants come out fo late,
they are’ “quite ripe ‘before the middle of
Ofober> But'I am not able to account for
theif comiing°up fo Jate in autumn, and I
rather afk, why do riot the Centaurea Facea,
the Géntiana, Amarella and Centaurium of
Einnéusy and the’ common ‘golden rod,
or Solidago Virgaurea flower before the end
of fummer? “or why° do the common noble
liverwort, or? Anemone “Hepatica,. the wild
vidlets'/ Viole martia, Linn.) the mezereon
(Daphne Mexeréum, Linn.) and othet plants
thew: theirfloweérs fo early in fpring? It/has
pleafed°the Almighty Creator to give to
them this “difpofition: | The weather at
Philadelphia during thefe months, is fhewn
by my mc eteorological tables. Ihave taken
the greateft’ care in my obfervations, and
have always avoided achat the thermo~
Hel DAR potent, Seber

119 September 1748. .

meter into any. place, where the fun, _—

thine, upon it, or, where,he had, before ‘heats

ed. the. wall by his beams; .for in .thofe.

ALES
my obfervations, would certainly, not have
been exaét.,, «Lhe weather during our Sep-

tember and Odober is too well,.known, to

want.an explanation.* ih w bsysoeree

., However, there are fome {pontaneous
plants. in, Penfylvania, which do, notievery
year bring their feeds; to maturity, before. the

cold begins. To. thefe belong fome. {pecies

of Gentiana, of Affers,, and others,,;.But.in

thefe; too the wifdom, of the Creator has .
wifely ordered every thing in, its turna.For

almoft all, the plants which have. abe quali-
nial, or cana as, though shew. have no: feed ta
propagate themfelves,. can revive, by. fhoot-
ing new. branches jand ftalks: from. the fame
root, every. year, , But perhaps..a/.natural

caufe, may. be given to, account, for. the late

growth, of thefe plants, Before the ,Euro-
peans, came into this country, it was inhabir-
ed. by) favage nations, ,who, practifed . agri~
culture. but letls or mot, at. all, and, chiefly
her eee | 46 ~qtived

393 SETH

* Tue Bnglif ble white is ‘perhaps. not tb weal, acquaint.
ed with the weather of the Swedi/S autumn, may form an
idea of it, by having recourfe to the Calendarium Flore, or
the botanical and ceconomical almanack of Sweden, in Dr.

Linneus’s Amon. Academ, and in Mr, Srilling fleet’s Swedi ifo

tracts, tranflated from the iia Acad. 2d. edition. F.

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. tib.

lived upon hunting and fithing. The woods.
therefore ‘have never beén’ meddled’ with,
yeoai that fometimes a’ fmall ‘part was de-

fttoyed by fire. ‘The aécounts which we
have of the firft landing of ‘the Europeans
heré,” thew that they found the country all
over covered with thick forefts.* From hence
it follows, that excepting the higher trees,
and the plants which grow in the Water or
near the thore, the reft muft for the great-
eft part ‘have been obliged to grow perhaps
fora thoufand years: together, in’a fhade;
either below or between the trees, and they
therefore naturally’ belong to thofe which
are only peculiar to woody and fhady places.
‘The trees in’ this country drop their leaves

in ‘fuch’ quantities in autumn, that «the ./ .
ground is covered with them to the depth /

of four or five inches. ‘Thefe leaves Tie a
good while in the next fummer before they
moulder, and this muft'-of courfe hinder
thé’ growth “of the plants which are under
the trees, ‘at the fame time depriving them
of the few rays of the fun which can come
down to them through the thick leaves at
the top of the trees. Thefe caufes joined
together make fuch plants flower much
latte “than. thE would otherwife do... May

SOND AAT tSAR . ats 1¢t

w Se a i abe ILI. 246.

112 _ Sepiember 1748.

it. not therefore be faid, that. io.fo many
centuries thefe plants had at laft. contracted
a habit of coming up very. late, and. that, it

vv would now require.a.great {pace of time. to _

make them lofe this habit,. and. ule thet
quicken their growth. Baw tt

September the 24th. We. employed His
whole day in gathering the feeds of of plants
of all kinds, and in Boating fearce, vb gay
into the herbal.,

September the 2 sth. Me. He 75 fhe cade
me a prefent of .a little piece of petrified
wood, which was found in the ground here.
Tt was four inches long, one inch broad,
and three lines thick. . It might plainly, he
feen that it had formerly been, wood,
in, the places: where it had, been, lithed,
all the longitudinal. fibres were, catty dillnn
guithable, fo that it might. have ion taken
for a “piece of oak which was cut Amooth,
My. Piece was part of a ftill. greater piece,
It was here thought to be petrified hiccory,
I afterwards got more of it from other peo-
ple. Mr. Lewis Evans told me that on the
boundaries. of Virginia,..a. great petrified
block, of hiccory had. been. found in. the
ground; with the bark on it, gabich, ma?
likewife petrified. .

~Mry fobn. Se od is an "Englifbman, a

who lives in the Apaay about four miles,
= 7 ~ from

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 114

from eaige of nat He has acquired a great
knowles natural philofophy and hifto-
fy, and'feems to be born with a peculiar
genius for thefe {ciencés.. In his youth he
had nv opportunity of going to fchool. But
y his own diligence and indefatigable ap-
he g ‘ot, without inftruction, fo far
in Latin, as to underftand all Latin books,
and even thofe which were filled with bo-
tanical terms. He has in feveral fuccellive
ars made frequent excurfions into differ-
ent diftant parts of North America, with an |
intention er gathering all forts of plants
which are {carceand little known. Thofe
which he found he has planted in his own
_ botanical ‘garden, and likewife fent over
their ‘feeds or frefh roots to England. We
owe to him the knowledge of many. fcarce
plants, which he firft found, and which
were nevér known before. He has fhewn
at judgment, and an attention which
lets nothing efcape unnoticed. Yet with
all thefe great qualities, he is to be blamed
for his negligence; for he did not care to
write ( 1 hisnumerousand ufeful obfervas
- tions! His friends at London once obliged
him to fend them a (hort account of one of
his travels, and they were very ready, with
a good intention, though not with fuffici-

ent judgment, to ine ‘this account a
; u

a) om September 1748.

But this book,:did Mr: Bartram-more harm
than. good ; for as’he‘is rather: backward in
writing: down what! he knows, !this»publis
cation? was found to’contain but few new
obfervations. It would not however ‘be
doing jultice to Mr. Bartram’s. merit; if it
were to be judged of by this performance.
He has not filled it with a thoufandth part
of the'great knowledge, which he has ac»
quired in natural philofophy ‘anduhiftory,
efpecially in regard to North America.)
havé often been at. a lofs to: think of) the
fources, from whence he got many thing's
which came to his’ knowledge: of hkewife
owe him many things, for he poffeffed that
great quality of communicating every thing —
he‘ knew. T fhall therefore in® the fequel,
frequently mention this gentleman. «For I
fhould never forgive myfelf, if I>-were to
omit the name of the firft inventor, and
claint that as my own invention, med it
fearnt' from another perfony»
s Many Mu/fcle fhells, ‘or Mytili: Danii: ‘
are:to’be met: with on the north=-weft fide
of the town in the clay-pits, which wereat
prefent filled with water'from a little brook
‘in the: neighbourhood. Thefe mufcles’ feem
to have been wafhed ‘into that place by the
‘tide, when the water in theibrook was high.
For thefe clay- dos are not oldj* but °>were
i lately

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. it

lately madew Poor boys f{ometimes go out
of town; «wade in the; water; and. gather
gteat quantities of thefe: thells,, which they
fell, very eafily,, they »:being reckoned .a
daintyovwor ipigow a eNOS VIsia
» Tap Virginian Azarole) withoa red fruit;
or Linneus’s CrategusGrus gall, is aApe-
cies of hawthorn, and they-plant it in hedg-
es; for want,of that hawthorn, which is
commonly ufed:forthis purpofe in Europe.
Its. berries.are red, and..of the fame fize,
fhape, and tafte with: thofe of our haw+
thorn. Yet this. tree. does not feem,,to
make a good hedge, for.its leaves’ were, al-
ready fallen,, whilft other trees ftill preferv-
ed, theirs. . Its {pines are very long:and
fharp «their length, being two-.or three
inches. Thefe {pines) are applied to, fome
dnconfiderable ufe.., Each. berry contains
two ftones.,;; 51 ior
Mr Bartram. aflured me, that, the

North American..oak, cannot refit; pu- — -

trefaGtion for near fuch afpace of time, as
the | Europeans -For. this reafon, the, boats
(which carry all forts of goods down:from
the upper! parts. of the country) upon-the
aiver Hudjon,- which is one of the greateft
an thefe, parts, are) made of two kinds of
wood, That: part which muft always be
ounder water, is made of black oak; but
Wdods. H 2 the

116 September 1748.

the upper. part, which is now above and
now under water,, and i is therefore more CX
pofed to, putrefaction,.. is, made of red cedar
or, funiperus Virginiana,, which is reckoned
the moft hardy, wood in. the country... The

bottom is made of black oak,’ beeaufe. ie
wood is very tough. For the river being
full of ftones, and the boats frequently run-
ning againft them, the black oak gives
way, and therefore does. not) eafily crack,
But the cedar would not do. for this pur-
pofe ; becaufe it is hard and. brittle. he
oak likewife is not fo. much attacked by
putrefaction, when it is always) i mae
water. r
In. autumn,’ I could always. ‘get. good
pears here ; but.every, body. acknowledged,

that this fruit would not. fener well i in the
country.

ALL my obfervations and remarks | on the

ualities of the Rattle-/nake,: are inferted in
ae Memoirs of the Swedi/h Academy of
Sciences, for the year 1752, p. 316, and
for the. year 1753» Pp» 54> dad uhitherd Ls re~
fer the reader.* ©:

‘BEARS are very numerous ‘nia up in
the country, and do» much mifchtef. Mr.
Bartram told me, that waite a bear catches

: | acow,

¢ Vide Medical, &c. cafes and experiments, ‘iii from
the Swedifh, London 1758, p, 282, P. ;

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 117

a'cow, he kills her in ‘the following man-
ner: ‘he’ bites a hole into the hide, and
blows with ‘all his power into it, till the ani-
mal fwélls exceffively and dies ;' for the
air expands ‘greatly between the flefh and
the hide:*°" An old Swede called Nils Gu/-
tave’s fon, who was ninety-one years of
age, faid, that in his youth, the bears had
been very frequent hereabouts, but that
they had feldom attacked the cattle: that
whenever a bear was killed, its flefh was
prepared like pork, and that it had a very
good tafté. And the flefh of bears is ftill
prepared like ham, on the river Morris.
The environs of Philadelphia, and even the
whole province of Pen/y/vania in general
contain very few bears, they having been
extirpated by degrees. In Virginia they kill
them in feveral different ways. Their fleth
is eaten by both rich and poor, fince it is
reckoned equal in goodnefs to pork, In

as 3 fome

~® Tus has all the appearance of a vulgar error: neither
does the fucceeding account of the American bears: being car-
nivorous, agree with the obfervations of the moft judicious
tiavel bed tae deny the fa&. P.

| Bur however itymight be eafible to reconcile both opi-
nions.. For Ezrope has two or three kinds of bears, one {pe-
cies of which is carnivorous, the other lives only on vegeta-
bles: the large brown fpecies, with its fmall variety, are

' reputed to be carnivorous, the black fpecies is merely phy-

tivorous, In cafe therefore both fpecies are found in North
America, it would be very eafy to account for their being both
Carnivorous and not. F,

i18 September 1748.

fome parts of this province, where no. hogs
can be kept on account of ‘the great num-
bers of bears, the people are ufed’ to catch”
and kill them, and to ufe them inftead’ of —
hogs. The American bears however, are 7
faid to be lefs fierce and dan gerousy than
the European ones.

September the 26th. Tur broad ata
or Plantago : major, grows on the” ‘high-
roads, foot paths, meadows, andi in gardens
in great plenty. Mr. Bartram had found
this plant in many places on his travels,
but he did not know whether it was an
original American plant, or whether the
Europeans had brought it over. This doubt
had its rife from the favages’ (who always
had an extenfive knowledge ‘of the plants
of the country) pretending that this plant
never grew here before the arrival of the
Europeans. .They therefore give it a name
which fignifies, the Engli/bman’s foot, for
they fay that where a European had walked,
there this plant grew in his foot fteps.

THE Chenopodium album, or Goo/e efoot with
finuated leaves, grows in plenty 1 in the gar-
dens. But it is more fearce near the houfes,
in the ftreets, on dunghills and corn-fields.
This feems to fhew, that it is not a native
of America, but has been brought over
amongft other feeds, from Europe....In the

fame

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 1 0)

fain. mapner it is thought that the Tan/ey
(Tanacetum vulgare, Linn.) which grows |
here and there 1 in the hedges, on the roads,
and nearhoufes, was produced from European
feedsut)

THE common Seminar, with blue flowers,
or verbena officinalis, was fhewn to me by
Mr. Bartram, not far from his houfe in a
little plain near Philadelphia. It was the
only. Place: where he had found it in, dme-
rica... And for this reafon I fuppofe it was
| sean fown here apenat other European —
‘ar .

" 3. Bartram was at this time building
a. Ponat in, Philadelphia, and had funk a
cellar, to a, confiderable depth, the foil of
which was. thrown out. I here obferved
the following ftrata. The upper loofe foil
was only half a foot deep, and of a dark
brown colour. Under it was a ftratum of
clay fo. much. blended with fand, that it
was in greater quantity than the clay itfelf;
and this ftratum was eight feet deep.. Thefe.
were both brick coloured. The next ftra-
tum confifted of little pebbles mixed with
a coarfe fand. The ftones confifted either
of a clear, or of a dark Quartz ;* they were

H 4 : quite

‘g Duarte Bh inns Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p. 65.

ena Solidum pellucidum, Wallerii Mi iner.) 91.
The

12@ September 1748.

quite f{mooth and roundifh on, the. outfide,.
and Jay. in a ftratum which was a foot deep.
Then the brick-coloured clay mixed with
fand appeared again. But the depth of this
firatum could not be determined. Query,
could the river formerly have: reached to
this place and formed thefe ftrata?) ©:

Mr.. Bartram. has not» only frequently
found oyfter-fhells in. the ground, but like-
wife, met: with fuch hells: and) {nails, as
undoubtedly belong to the fea, atithe dif=
tance'of a hundred and more Engl/h miles
from the fhore. -He has, even :found theny
on the ridge of, mountains. whith feparate
the Engljh plantations from the habitations
of the. favages... Thefe mountaims which
the Ezgli/h. call, the, .d/ue,mountams, arevot
confiderable height, and‘ extendsin: one
continued chain fromy, north too fouth, or
from Canada.to Carolina. Yetoinofome:
places they have gapsy. which are‘asit were:
broke through, \to.\ afford: a) :paflage: for the
great. rivers, which -roll, eaidins into the
lower country. . < 99119192 to

Tue Cafla Ghana ida) ini ‘on ‘the
roads through the woods, and, fometimes.

The common Quartz, Forfer’s Mineralogys p.16.0%

And Quartzum coloratums, Linn, Syf. nats 3% FeO G02220
Quartzum folidum opacuu coloratum,. Vien sie? Laie
Lhe impure Quartz, Fork. Min. p..16.., >,

Penfylvuania, Philadelphia. r2t

on uncultivated fields, efpecially when
bs'grew’'in them. “Its leaves are like
thofe of the Senfitive plant, or Mimofaz, and
have dikewife the quality of contraGing
ama in common cab the ig en
of the latter)’ ©
THe Crows in she bositry are Little dif
ferent from ‘our common crows in Sweden,
Their ‘fize bis'the fame ‘with that of our
crows, and they are as black as jet in every
part of their. body.’ I faw them flying to’
day “in great numbers together. Their
voice’ is\inot ‘quite like that of our crows,
but:has rather’ more of the cry of the rook,
or Linneus's Corvus frugilegus. 7
oIMp. Bartram related, that on his sans
neysto thenorthern Engii/h colonies, he had
difcovered great holes. in the mountains on’
the banks of rivers, which according to his’
defcription;) muft exactly have been fuch
giants pots,* as areto be met with in Sweden,
and: which I have defcribed in a particular
differtation ‘readin the Royal Sweai/h Aca~
demy of Sciences. Mr. Bartram has like-
wife addreffed: fome letters to the Royal
Society ‘iat! London wpon this fubject.' For

fome:

* In Sweden, and\in the north ‘of Germany, the round hile
in rivers, with aftonéy or rocky bed, which the whirling
of the water has tnade, are called giants pots; thefe holes are
likewife mentioned in Mr.(Gfafkys new obfervations on Italy,
Vol. 1. P- $. F.

122 September 1748..

fome people pretended, that thefe holes were.
made, by, the: favages, that they. might in
time of. war hide their corn and other valu-
able effects in them. . But he wrote againft.
this /opinion,) and accounted for the origin:
of thefe cavities in the following manners
When, the. ice fettles, many pebbles ftick
in. it.) In {pring when the fnow melts, the
water in, the rivers fwells: fo, high that it
reaches.above the place where. thefe holes.
are now found in the mountains. .. The ice.
therefore will of courfe float as. high. And,
then. it often happens, that the pebbles.
which. were contained in it; ever fince —
autumn when it firft fettled on, the banks. of.
the river, fall out of the ice upon the rocky
bank, and are from thencecarried into a cleft
or.crack, by the water. Thefe pebbles are;
then continually turned about by the water,
which comes in upon them, and by this
means they gradually, form the hole... Ghe
water at the fame jtime polithes the ftone
by its circular motion round. it, and helps
to make the hole or cavity round... It is
certain that by. this turning; and tofling,
the ftone is at laft unfit, for, this purpofe ;
but the river throws commonly every {pring
other ftones inftead of it into the cavity,
and they are turned round in the fame man-
ner. By this whirling both the ‘mountain

| and

Penfyluania, Philaelpbia. 124

afd the {tone afford either a fine or a coarfe
fand, which i Ts wafhed away bye ‘the! water
when in’ pring, © or at’ ibaa ‘times | ‘it ae

He 2 Ry As ene opinion (ef Mr.
Ripon about the origin of thefe cavities.
The Royal Society of Sciences at London,
has given a favourable reception to, and ap =

‘oved of them.* The remarks which *T’
madé in the fummer of the year 1743,
during my ftay at Lanad’s-Ort, in my’ coun~
try, will prove that I was at that time of
the fame opinion, in regard to thefe holes.
I have fince further explained this opinion
ina letter to the Royal Academy of Scien-
ces 5 and this ‘letter is {till preferved in the
Ac cademy’s Memoirs, ‘which have’ not yet
been publifhed. But’ there i is great reafon
to doubt, whether all cavities of this kind
in mountains, have the fame origin.

Here are different fpecies of Mulberry
wp which grow wild in the: forefts of
north and fouth ‘America. In thefe parts
the red mulberry trees are more plentiful
than any ‘other. However Mr. Bartram
affured me ‘that he had likewife feen rhe

wine

” How! far this bye priotagan of the Royal Society, ought
to be credited, is to be underftood from the advertifements

ublifhed at the head of each new volume of the Philofophi-
Cal Tranfactions. F.

E24 September 1748.

white mulberry trees growing wild, but
that they were more fcarce. TF afeed him
and féveral other people of this country ;
why they did not fet up filk manufactures,

having fuch a quantity of mulberries, which
fucceed fo eafily > For it has been obfery-
ed that when the berries fall upon the
ground where it is’ not compact but loofe,
they foon put out feveral fine delicate thoots.
But they replied that it would not be worth
while to erect any filk manufactures: here, |
becaufe labour is fo dear. For aman gets
_ from eighteen pence to three fhillings and
upwards, for one day’ s work, and the women
are paid in proportion. They were there-
fore of opinion that the cultivation of all
forts of corn, of hemp, and of flax, would
be of greater advantage, and that at the -
fame time it did not require near. fo much
care as the feeding of filk worms. By the —
trials of a governor in Conneéficuf, which —
is a more northern province than New York,
it is evident however, that filk worms fuc-
ceed very well here, and that this kind of
mulberry trees is very good for them. The
governor brought up a great quantity of fille
worms in his court yard; and they fucceed-
ed fo well, and {pun fo much filk, as to
afford him a fufficient quantity for” cloath-
ing himfelf and all his family.

SEVERAL

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 125

Severar forts of Vines likewife grow
wild hereabouts. Whenever I made a lit-
( -excurfion out. of town, I faw. them in
numerous . plac es. climbing up. trees and
hedges. “They clafp around them, - and co=
ver. them fometimes entirely, and even
hang down on the fides. This has the fame
appearance at a diftance, as the tendrils of
hops punting, along trees. 1 enquired. of
Mr. Bartram why they did not plant vine-
yards, or prefs wine from the grapes of the
wild vine, But they anfwered, that the
- fame objection lay againtt it, which lies
againft the erection of a filk manufaCture,
that the neceflary hands were too {carce,
and it therefore was more rational to make

iculture. their chief employment. But
: true reafon undoubtedly is, that the
wine which is preffed out of moft of the
North American wild, grapes is four and
fharp, and has not near fuch an agreeable
tafte, as that which is made from European

grapes,
THE, Yai Wake robin, or Arum Vir-
Ere ows in wet places. Mr, Bar-

me, that the favages boiled the
be pskgel the Jerries of this flower, and
peisbo it as a great dainty. When the

berries are raw, 2 ADEE have a harth, _pungent
pt

r26 September r 748.

tafte,, which ay lofe in Brest meafure up
on boiling.: | | i chet tebe
\ Tuk Sarothra fe PCL th gtOws abun-
dantly in the fields and. under. “the, buthes,
in'a dry fandy ground) near. Philadelphia,
It looks extremely: like our whortleberry
bufhes when they firft begin to green, and
when the points of the leaves are yet red;
Mr. Bartram has fent this plant .to.Dr.
Dillenius, but that gentleman did not know
where he fhould range it. It is reckoned
a very good traumatic, and this, quality Mr.
Bartram himfelf experienced)s), for. being
thrown and kicked by a vicioushorfe; in fuch
a manner as to have both his thighs greatly
hurt, he boiled the Sarothra and applied
it to his wounds... It not only immediately
appeafed his pain, which before. had .beén
very violent, but he likewife by, its. Batt

ance recovered in.a fhort time,
Havine read in Mr. Miller’s Botancdal
Diitionary, that Mr. Peter Coliinfon hada
particular Larch tree from America in his
garden, I afked Mr. Bartram whether he
was acquainted with it, he anfwered, that
he had fent it himfelf ‘to Mr. Gollinfon,
that it only grew in the eaftern parts of
New Ferfe -y, and that. he had met with it
in no other Engljb plantation. It differs
from the other {pecies of Larch trees, its
cones

Penfylvania,. Philadelphia. 127

cones being much lefs.| I afterwards, faw
this tree in great plenty in Canada. sic
-oMr.-Bartram was of opinion, that the |
apple tree was brought into: America by the
Europeans; and that it never! was there be-
fore: their arrival» But she looked upon
peaches-as: an original American fruit;: and
as growing wild in the greateft partiof
America: Others again were of opinion,
that they ‘were firft brought over «by: the
Europeans: But all the Prench in Canada
agreed, thation the banks of) the, river
Mififippe and in the, country thereabouts
peaches were found growing wild in great
quantity.*)— | i Tetyere:
oo September the 27th. Tue tree whichthe
Buch/h here call Perfimon, is the Dzo/pyros
Virginiana»of Linneus.: It grows» for
the greateft part in wet places, round
the water pits... I have already mentioned

‘that the fruits of this tree: are extremely

bitter and fharp\ before they are quite ripe,

and that being eaten in that ftate they quite

contract

y
t

*

Ss OA" oo ; 7 { j ;

0 * Dhomas Herriot, fervant to Sir Walter Raleigh, who was
em toyed by him to examine into the produétions of North
America, makes no mention of the peach among the other
fruits he deferibes, and M. du Pratz, who has given. a ‘very
good account of Loui/iana and the Mififippi, fays, that the na-
tives got their peaches from the Englifo colony of Carolina;
‘before the French fettled there: P. | } G01:
wel

se A he AG

128 September 1748.

contract ones mouth, and have a very difa=
greeable tafte. Butas foon as they are ripe,
which does not happen till they have been
quite foftened by the froft, they are a very
agreeable fruit. They are here eaten raw,
and feldom any other way. But ina great
book, which contains a defcription of Vir-
ginia, you meet with different ways of
preparing the Perfmon, under the article
of that name. Mr. Bartram, related that
they were commonly put upon the table
amongft the fweet-meats, and that fome
people made a tolerably good wine of them. —
Some of thefe Perfimon fruits were dropped
on the ground in his garden, and were al~
moft quite ripe, having been expofed to a
great degree of the heat of the fun. We
picked up a few and tafted them, and I
muft own that thofe who praifed this fruit —
as an agreeable one, have but done it juftice.
It really deferves a place among the moft’
palatable fruit of this country, when the
froft has thoroughly conquered its acri-
mony.

Tue Verbafcum Thapfus, or great white
Mullen, gtows in great quantity on roads,
in hedges, on dry fields, and high mea-
dows of a ground mixed with fand. The
Swedes here call it the tobacco of the favages, —
but owned, that they did not kaow “ae

t

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 129

ther orvno*the Indians really ufed. this
plant: sinftead: of tobacco. The Swedes
are‘ufed® to»tie the leaves round their feet
and arms, when they have the ague. Some
of them»prepated a tea fromthe leaves, for
the dyfentery. A Swede likewife told me,
call Gaaniias of the roots was injeéted
into the wounds of the cattle which are-full
of worms; which killed thefe wegeriany and
made them fall-out:*
© September: the 28th. Tue weriteihe
ewhich are furrounded: ins dota and were
at -prefent mown, have:a fine lively verdure.
‘On the contrary: when they lie-on hills, or
in open fields, or infome elevated fituation,
efpecially fo that the fun may be able to act
upon them without» any obftacles, their
grafs looks brown and dry. Several people
from Virginia told me, that on account of
the great heat and drought, the meadows
and paftures almoft always had a brown:co-
jour;-and looked» as if they were burnt.
The inhabitants of thofe parts do not there-
fore enjoy the o Sgebe which a European
an <Bty Wo as Fels
; Bec O° e745 its
SE whew the Latva’s of the Ocfrus ¢ or Cadfy,
ofits its. eggs on the back of cattle, and the Lar-
i rom thefe , caufe great fores, where-
= til: penen change. In the fouth
ef ’ the fame parpot the decoction of Vera-

130 8 eptember I 748.

feels at the fight of our verdant, odoriferous
meadows.

EueAmerican Night /badey: or the Piitahicas a5
decandra, grows abundantly in’ the fields,
and. under the trees, on little hills. Its —
black berries are. now ripe. We obferved
to day fome little birds with a blue plu-
mage, and of the fize of our Hortulans and
Yellow Hammers (Emberiza Citrinella and
Emberiza Hortulanus) flying down from
the trees, in order to fettle upon the night-
fhade and eat its berries.

Towarps night I went to Mr. Bartram! s
country feat.

September the 29th. Tue Grophalium
margaritaceum, grows in aftonifhing quanti- —
ties upon all uncultivated fields, glades, hills,
and. the like. Its height is different accord-
ing to its different {oil and fituation. Some-
times it is very ramofe, and fometimes very
little. It has a ftrong, but agreeable fmell.
The Enghjb call it Life everlafling ; for its
flowers, which confift chiefly of dry, fhi-
ning, filvery leaves (Folia calycina) do not
change when dried. This plant is now
every where in full blofiom. But fome ~
have already loft the flowers, and are be- —
ginning to drop the feeds. The Enghjh —
ladies were ufed to gather great quantities

of this Lz fe everlafiing, and to pluck them

with °?3

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 131

with the ftalks. For they put them into
pots with or without water, amongft other
fine flowers which they had gathered both
in the gardens and in the fields, and placed
them as an ofhament in the rooms. The
Finghfb \adies in general are much inclined —
to| have fine flowers. all the fummer long,
in or upon the chimneys, fometimes upon a
table, or before the windows, either on ac-—
count of their fine appearance, or for the fake
of their tweet fcent. The Guaphaliumabove-
mentioned, was one of thofe, which they
kept in their rooms during the winter, be-
caufe its flowers never altered from what
they were when they ftood in the ground.
Me. Bartram told me another ufe of this
plant. A decoétion of the flowers and
ftalks is ufed to bathe any pained or bruifed
part, or it is rubbed with the plant itfelf
tied up in a bag.

InsTEAD of flax feveral people made ufe
of a kind of Dog’s dane, or Linneus’s Apo-~
cynum cannabinum. The people prepared
the ftalks of this plant, in the fame manner
as we prepare thofe of hemp or flax. It
was fpun and feveral kinds of ftuffs were
woven from it. The favages are faid to
have had theart of making bags, fifhing-
nets, and the, like, for many centuries. to-
gether, before the arrival of the Europeans.

I 2 I ASKED

132 September 1748.

I asked Mr. Bartram, whether he had
obferved in his travels, that the water was
fallen, and that the fea had formerly cover-
ed any places which were now land. — -He
told'me, that from what he had experienc-
ed, he was convinced that the greateft part
of this country, even for feveral miles to-
gether, had formerly been under water.
The reafons which led him to give credit
to i opinion, were the following.

On digging in the blue mountains,
caineh are above three hundred Enghjb
miles diftant from the fea, you find loofe
oyfter and other forts of fhells, and they
are alfo likewife to be met with in-the
vallies formed by thefe mountains.

2. A VAST quantity of pcialied fhells
are found in limeftone, flint, and fandftone,
on the fame mountains. Mr. Bartram:af-

- ‘fured me at the fame time, that it was in-

credible what quantities of them there
were in the different kinds of {tones of
Ww sey the mountains confift. ©
. Tue fame fhells are likewife dug in.
great quantity, quite entire and not moul-—
dered, in the provinces of —— and
~ Maryland, as alfo in Piblaueipiann “in
New York.
4. On digging wells (not only in Phila-
delphia, but likewife in other places) the

people

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 133

ple have met with trees; roots, and
leaves of oak, for the greateft part, not yet.

rotten, at the depth of eighteen feet. 26 jn

_-Tue beft foil and the richeft mould
is to be met with in the vallies hereabouts.
Thefe vallies are commonly croffed by a ri-
vulet or brook. And on their declivity, a
mountain commonly rifes, which in. thofe
places where the brook paffes clofe to it,
looks as if it were cut on purpofe. Mr.
Bartram believed, that all thefe vallies for-
merly were lakes; that the water had by
degrees hollowed out the mountain, and
opened a paflage for itfelf through it; and
that the great quantity of flime which is
contained in the water, and which had fub-
fided to the bottom of the lake, was the
rich foil which is at prefent in the vallies,
and the caufe of their great fertility. But
fuch vallies and cloven mountains are very
frequent in the country, and of this kind
is the peculiar gap between two mountains,
through which a river takes its courfe on
ie boundaries of New York and Pen/fylva-

_ The people in a jeft fay, that this
ott was made by the D—I, as he
wanted to go out of Penfylvania into New
York.

6. Tue whole appearance of the blue
» rime plainly fhews that the water
: 13 formerly

134 September 1748.

formerly covered a part of them. . For
many are broken in a peculiar manner, but
the higheft are plain.

7, Wuen the favages are told, that thells
are found on thefe “high mountains, and
that from thence there is reafon to believe
that the fea muft formerly have extended to
them, and even in part flown over them ;
they anfwer that this is not new to them,
they having a tradition from their anceftors
‘among them, that the fea formerly - fur-
rounded thefe mountains,

8. Tue water in rivers and brooks like-

wife decreafes. Mills, which fixty years
ago were built on rivers, and. at that time
had a fufficient fupply of water almoft all
the year long, have at prefent fo little, that
they cannot be ufed, but after a heavy rain,
or when the fnow melts in {pring. This
decreafe of water in. part arifes from the
great quantity of land which is now culti-
vated, and from the extirpation of great
forefts for that purpofe.
_g. Tue fea-fhore inctéates likewife in
time. This arifes from the quantity of ©
fand continually thrown-on fhore from the
bottom of the fea, by the waves. —

Mr. Bartram thought that fome peculi-
ar attention fhould be paid to another thing
relating to thefe obfervations, ~The hells

which

Penfylvanta, Philadelphia. 125

__ which are to be found petrified on the nor-
‘thern mountains, are of fuch kinds as. at
prefent are not to be got in the fea, in the
fame latitude, and they are not fifhed on
the fhore, till you come to South Carolina.
Mr. Bartram from hence took an occafion
to defend Dr. Thomas Burnet’s opinion, that
the earth before the deluge was in a differ-
‘ent pofition towards the fun. He likewife
afked whether the great bones which are
fometimes found in the ground in Szberia,
and which are fuppofed to be elephant’s
bones and tufks, did not confirm this opi-
nion. For at prefent thofe animals cannot
live in fuch cold countries; but if according
to Dr. Burnet, the fun once formed different
zones about our earth, from thofe it now
makes, the elephant may eafily be fuppofed
to have lived in Szberia.* However it

I 4 feems

- * Te bones and tufks of Elephants are not only found
in Rufa, but alfo in the canton of Bafel in Swiffrland, in
the dominions of the Marquis of Bareith in Franconia, and
more inftances are found in the Protogza of the cele-
brated Leibnitz. Lately near the river Ohio have been dif-
covered, a great number of fkeletons of Elephants with their
tufks, and very remarkable grinders ftill fticking in their
jaw bones were fent to the Britifh Mu/feum; the late Dr.
Littleton Bithop of Carlifle, alfo lodged fome teeth flicking in
their jawbones in the Mufeum of the Royal Society, which
were brought from Peru. The rivers Chatunga and Indi-
ghirka in Siberia, are remarkable for affording on their banks
great quantities of bones and tufks of Elephants, which

being

136 September 1748.

feems that all which we have hitherto men-=
tioned, may have been the effed of differ-
ent caufes. To thofe belong the univerfal
deluge, the increafe of land which is mere-

ly

being preferved there by the great froft, and in the fhort
fummer of a few weeks, the rain being rare, thefe tufks are
commonly fo frefh that they are employed in Ruffa, as com-
Mon ivory, on account of the great quantity brought from
thefe places to Raffa ; fome of them were eight feet long, and
of three hundred pounds weight. ‘There have been found
grinders of nine inches diameter. | But the American grinders
ef Elephants from near the Ofio are yet more remarkable,
on account of their being provided. with crowns on their
tops, fuch as are only found in the carnivorous animals, and
fuch as feed on hard bones or nuts. Whilft on the contrary,
Elephants at prefent feeding on grafles and foft vegetables |
have no fuch crowns at the tops of their grinders. Livy, it
is true, makes a diftin@ion between the Aare or Indian
Elephants, and the 4fricaz ones;. and remarks the. latter, to
be inferior to the former in fize and vigour; but whether
the teeth in thefe animals are fo much different from thofe
of the other variety, ‘has never been attended to. This cir-
cumftance of the difference in the foffil grinders of Ele-
phants, from thofe in the living ones, and the place where
thefe fkeletons were found in, viz. Siberia, Germany and
America, where at prefent no Elephants are to be met with,
opens a wide field to conje€tures in regard to the way, by
which thefe animals were carried to thofe fpots. The flood
in the deluge perhaps has carried them thither: nor is it
contrary to reafon, hiftory or revelation, to believe, thefe
fkeletons to be the remainders of animals, which lived on
the furface of this war anterior to the Mofaic creation,
which may be confidered only as anew modification of the
creatures living on this globe, adapted to its prefent flate,
under which it will remain till circumftances will make a new
change neceflary, and then our globe will by a new creation
or revolution appear more adapted to its flate, and be ftock~-
ed with a fet of animals more fuitable to that flate. Every

man

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 137

ly the work of time, and: the changes of
the courfe of rivers, which when the fnow
melts and. in great floods, leave their firft
beds, and form new ones. AVIA OED Fe
» At fome diftance from’ Mr.. Bartram’s
country houfe, a little brook flowed through
the wood, and likewife ran over a rock.
The attentive Mr. Bartram here fhewed
me feveral little cavities in the rock, and
we plainly faw that they muft have been
generated in the manner I before defcribed,;
that is, by fuppofing a pebble to have re-
mained in a cleft of the rock, and to have
been turned round by the violence of the
water, till it had formed fuch a cavity in
the mountain. For on putting our hands
into one of thefe cavities, we found that it
contained numerous {mall pebbles, whofe
furface was quite fmooth and round. And
thefe ftones we found in each of the holes.

Mr. Bartram fhewed me a number of

CAPO PE Ot plants

man ufed to philofophy and reafoning will find, that this plan
gives a grand idea of the Creator, his cconomy and ma-
nagement of the univerfe: and moreover, it is conformable
to the meaning of the words of a facred writer, who fays :
PL cive 29. 30+, Thou. bide thy face and they ({mall and
great beafts) are troubled; thou take/t away their breath they die,
and returmto their duft. Thou fendeft forth thy /pirit, they are
created; and thou reneweft the face of the earth. See Dr.
Hunter’s remarks on the above-mentioned teeth, in the PAr-

lofophical Tranf. Vol. Wwiii. F.

138 . September 1748.

plants which he had collected into a herbal
on his travels. Among thefe were the fol-
lowing, which Likewife grow in the nor-
thern parts of Europe, of which he had ei-
ther got the whole plants, or only broken
branches.

1. Betula alba. The common birch tree,
which he had found on the cats-hills.

2. Betula nana. ‘This fpecies of birch
grows in feveral low places towards the
hills.

3. Comarum palufire, in the saaaibatirs,
between the hills in New fer/ey.

Gentiana lutea, the great Gentian,
from the fields near the mountains. It was
very like our variety, but had not fo many
flowers under each leaf.

5. Linnea borealis, from the mountains
in Canada. It creeps along the ground.

6. Myrica Gale, from the neighbourhood
of the river Su/guehanna, whete it grows in
a wet foil.

7. Potentilla fruticofa, from the {wampy
fields and low meadows, between the river
Delaware, and the river New York.

8. Lrientalis Europea, from the cats-hills.

g. LIrighchin maritimum, from the falt
{prings towards the country of the five na-

tions.
Mr ’

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 139

Mr. Bartram: fhewed .me aletter from
af. Serle zy, in which he got the following
account of the difcovery of an Indian grave.
‘In the “pri/ of the.year 1744, as fome
people. were digging a cellar, they came
upon a great ftone, like a tombftone; which
was at laft got out with great difficulty, and
about, four feet, deeper under it, they met
with a large. quantity of human bones and ©
a cake of maize. The latter was yet quite
untouched, and feveral of the people pre-
{ent tafted it out of curiofity. From thefe
circumftances it was concluded that. this
was a grave of a perfon of note amang the
favages. .For it is their cuftom. to bury
along with the deceafed, meat’ and other
things, which he liked. beft. The ftone
was eight feet long, four feet broad, and
even fome inches more where it was broad-
eft, and fifteen inches thick at one end, but
only twelve inches. at the other end. It
confifted of the fame coarfe kind of ftone,
that is to be got in this country. There
were no letters nor other characters vifible
on it. ,

‘THe corn which the Indians chiefly cul-
tivate is the Mazze, or Zea Mays, Linn.
They. have little corn fields for that pur-
pofe. But befides this, they likewife plant
a great quantity of Squa/bes, a fpecies of
pumpions

140 September 1748.

pumpions of melons, which they have al-
ways cultivated, even in the remoteft ages.
The Europeans fettled in America, got the
feeds of this plant, and at prefent their gar-
denis are full of it, the fruit has an agreeable
tafte when it is well prepared. hey are
commonly boiled, then crufhed (as we are
ufed to do with turneps when we make a
pulfe of them) and fome pepper or other fpice
thrown upon them, and the difh is ready.
The Indians likewife fow feveral kinds of
beans, which for the greateft part they
have got from the Europeans. But peafe
which they likewife fow, they have always
had amongft them, before any foreigners
came into the country. The fquathes of
’ the Indians, which now are likewife culti-
vated by the Europeans, belong to thofe
kinds of gourds (cucurbita,) which ripen
before any other. They ‘are a very deli-
cious fruit, but will not keep. I have
however feen them kept till pretty late in
winter.

September the 30th. Wueat and rye
are fown in autumn about this time, and
commonly reaped towards the end of “fune,
or in the beginning of fuly. Thefe kinds
of corn, however, are fometimes ready to be
reaped in the middle of ‘fume, and there
are even examples that they have been

mown

Penfyloania, Philadelphia. I4t

mown in the beginning of that. month.
Barley and. oats are fown in April, and
they commonly begin to grow ripe towards
the end of Fu/y.. Buck-wheat 1s fown in
the middle or at the end of Yul, and is
about this time, or fomewhat later, ready
to be reaped. If it be fown before the
above-mentioned time, as in May, orin
Fune, it only “aks flowers, and little or no
corn. |

Mr. Made abiaied ether people affured.
me, that moft of the cows which the En-
glifh have here, are the offspring’ of thofe
which they bought of the Swedes when they
were mafters of the country. The Engli/h
themfelves are faid to have brought over
but few. The Swedes either brought their
cattle from home, or bought. them of the
Dutch, who were then fettled here.
_ Near the town, I faw an Ivy or Hedera
Helix, planted againft the wall of a ftone
building, which was fo covered by the
fine green leaves of this plant, as almoft to
conceal the whole. It was doubtlefs brought
over from Europe, for I have never perceiv-
éeduit any where elfe on my travels through
North-America. But in its ftead I have
often feen wild vines made to run up the
walls,

_ I askep Mr. Bartram, whether he had

obferved,

142° September 1748.

obferved, that trees and plants decreafed i in.
proportion as they were brought further to.
the North, as Cate/by pretends? He an-_
{wered, that the queftion fhould be more.
limited, and then his opinion would prove.
the true one. There are fome trees which
grow better in fouthern countries, and be-
come lefs as you advance to the BOD.
Their feeds or berries are fometimes prong’
into colder climates by birds and by ot
accidents. They gradually decreafe in
growth, till at laft they will not grow at .
all. On-the other hand, there are other
trees and herbs which the wife Creator def-_
tined for the northern countries, and they
grow there to an amazing fize. But the
further they are tranfplanted to the fouth,
the lefs they grow; till at laft they dege-_
nerate fo much as not to be able to grow. _
at all. Other plants love a temperate cli-
mate, and if they be carried either fouth
or north, they will not fucceed well, but_
always decreafe. Thus for example Pen-
Jyfvania contains fome trees which grow
exceedingly well, but always decreafe in
proportion as they are carried further off
either to the north, or to the fouth. |

I AFTERWARDS on my travels, had
frequent proofs of this truth. The Safa-
jras, which grows in Penfylvania, under

forty

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 143

forty deg. of lat. and becomes a pretty tall
and thick tree, was fo little at O/wego and
Fort Nicholfon, between forty-three and
forty-four deg. of lat. that it hardly reach-
ed the height of two or four feet, and was
feldom fo thick as the little finger of a full
grown perfon. This was likewife the cafe
with the Tuhp tree. For in Penfylvania it
grows as high as our talle{t oaks and firs,
and its thicknefs is proportionable to its
height. But about O/wego it was not above
twelve feet high, and no thicker than a
man’s arm. The Sugar Maple, or Acer
faccharinum, is one of the moft common
trees in the woods of Canada, and grows
very tall. But in the fouthern provinces,
as New “ferfey and Penfylvania, it only
grows on the northern fide of the ‘blue
mountains, and on the fteep hills which are
on the banks of the river, and which are
turned to the north. Yet there it does
not attain to.a third or fourth part of. the
height which it has in Canada. It is need-
lefs to mention more examples.

Oéfober the ift. Tue gnats which are
very troublefome _ at night here, are called
Mufquetoes. They are exaétly like the
gnats in Sweden, only fomewhat lefs, and the
defcription which is to be met with in
npr? Linnaeus’ s Syftema Nature, and Fauna

Suecica,

144 -. Odfober 1748.

Suecica, fully agrees with them, and they
are called» by him. Cukx ‘pipiens « In day
time or‘at night they come into the: houfes,
and when the people are gone ‘to: bed they
begin their difagreeable humming, ap

always nearer to the: bed; and: at laft fack
up fo much blood,’ that they can hardly fly ©
away. Their bite caufes blifters in people
of adelicate complexion. Whenthe weather
has been cool for fome days, the mufquetoes
difappear. But when it changes again;
and efpecially after a-rain, they gather fre-
quently in fuch quantities about the houfes,
that their numbers are aftonifhing.» The
chimneys of the Engl/bh: which ‘havei:no
valves for fhutting them up, afford the gnats
a free entrance into the houfes.. In fultry
evenings, they accompany the cattle» in
great {warms, from the woods to the houfes
or to town, and when they are drove before
the houfes, the gnats fly in wherever they
can. In the greateft heat of fummer, they
are fo numerous in fome places, that the
air feems to be quite full of them, efpeci-
ally near fwamps and ftagnant waters,
fuch as the river Morris in New “ferfey.
The inhabitants therefore make a fire be-
fore their houfes to expell thefe difagreea-
ble gueft by the fmoak.. The old Swedes
here, faid that gnats had: formerly- 1

muc

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. i465

much more numerous ; that even at prefent
they {warmed in yaft quantities on the fea
fhore near the falt water, and that thofe
which troubled us this autumn in PAzila-
delphia were of a more venomous kind,
than they commonly ufed to be. This lat
quality appeared from the blifters;: which
were formed on the dpots, where the gnats
had infertedtheir fting. In Sweden I never
felt any other inconvenience from their
fting, than a little itching, whilit thev
fucked. But when they ftung me here at.
night, my face was fo disfigured by little
red {pots and blifters, that i was almoft a-
fhamed to fhew mylelf.
--I nave already mentioned fomewhat
about the enclofures ufual here; I now add,
that moft of the planks which are put ho
rizontally, and of which the enclofures in
the environs of Philadelphia chiefly confit,
are of the red cedar wood, which is here
reckoned more durable than any cther. But
where this could not be got, either white
or black oak fupplied its place. The peo-
ple were likewife very glad if they could
- get cedar wood for the pots, or elfe they
took white oak, or chefnut, as I was told
by Mr. Bartram. But it feems that that
kind of wood in general does not keep well
in the ground fora confiderable time. I
K faw

146 _ Ofober 1 748.

faw fome pofts made of chefnut wood, and
_ put into the ground only the year before,
which. were already for the ereateiiqnat
rotten below. rh
Tue Saffafras tree, or Laurus Saflafras,
Linn. grows in abundance in the country,
and ftands {eattered upand down the woods,
and near bufhes and enclofures. On, old
grounds, which are. left uncultivated, it is
one of the firft that comes.up, and is as
plentiful as young birches are on thofe
Swedifh fields, which are formed by burn-
ing the trees which grew on them.* ‘The
faffafras grows in a dry loofe ground, of a
pale brick colour, which. confifts for the
ereateft part of fand, mixed with fome
clay: It feems to be but a poor foil. The
mountains round Gothenburgh, in Sweden,
would afford many places rich enough for
the Safafras to grow in, and I even fear
they would be too rich. I here faw it
both in the woods amidift other, trees, and
more frequently by itfelf along the enclo-
fures.

* In Mr. Ofbeck’s Voyage t to China, Vol. 1. p. 50.ina
note, an account is given of this kind of land, which the
Swedes call Swedieland, where it 1s obferved, that the trees
being burnt, their afhes afford. manure: fufficient for three
years, after which they are left uncultivated again, till after

“twenty or more years, a new generation of trees being pro-

duced.on them, the couatry people burn them, and cultivate
the country for three years again, F

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 4 47
fures. In both it looks equally freth. TI

- hhave never ‘feen it on wet or low places.
The people here gather its flowers, and ufe
them inftead of tea. But the wood itfelf
is of no ufe in ceconomy ; for when it is
fet on fire, it caufes a continual crackling,
without making any good fire. The tree
{preads its roots very much, and new fhoots
come up from them in fome places; but
thefe fhoots are not good for tranfplanting,
becaufe they have fo few fibres befides the
root, which connects them to the main ftem,
that they cannot well ftrike into the ground.
If therefore any one would plant Saffafras
trees he muft endeavour to get their berries,
which however is difficult, fince the birds
eat them before they are half ripe. The
cows are very greedy after the tender new
fhoots, and look for them every where.’
~Tue\ bark of this tree is ufed by the
women here in dying worfted a fine laft-
ing orange colour, which does not fadein
the fun. They ufe urine inftead of alum ~
in'dying, and boil the dye in a brafs boiler,
becaufe in an iron vefiel it does not yield
fo fine a colour. A woman in Virginia has
fuccefsfully employed the berries of the
Saffafras*againft a great pain in one of her
feet,. which for. three years together fhe
had to fuch adegree, that it almoft hindered
| K 2 her

148 Ogtober 1748.

her, from walking. She was Any ed to
-proil the berries of faffafras, ad oa the
painful parts of her. foot wi the, oil,
which. by. this means would be got fi rom
the berries. She, did fo, but. at tho fame
time it made her vomit ; yet this, was not
fufficient to keep her from following athe
prefcription three times more, though as
often as fhe made ufe thereof, it always | had
the fame effect. However fhe was entirely
freed from that pain, and perfectly re-
covered.

_ A BLack Woodpecker with a red. head, or
the Picus pileatus, Linn. is frequent 1 in the
Penfylvanian forefts, and ftays the winter,
as I know from. my own experience. It is
reckoned among thofe birds which deftroy
the maize; becaufe it fettles on the ripe
ears, and deftroys them with. its bill. The
Swedes. call it 7; ke oka, but all. other, wood-

bt ae OE

ph more. see in a ci a oi
‘T only obferve here, that almoft all the dif-
ferent {pecies of woodpeckers are very NOx-
ious to the maize, when it begins to ripen :
for ,by picking holes in- ‘the membrane
found .the ear, the rain gets into it, and
.eaufes the ear with all the corn it contains
to rot. Odtober

Penfylvania, Journey to Wilmington. 149

_ Ofober the 3d. In the morning I ‘fet
rg for Wi imington, which was formerly
hriftina by the Swedes, and is, thirty
Engl miles to the fouth weft of Pdrlz-
delphia. Three miles behind Philadelp bia
fe pafted the river Sku/éi//in a ferry, beyond
which the country appears almoft’a conti-
nual chain of mountains and vallies.’ The
‘mountains have an eafy flope on all fides,
and the vallies are commonly croffed by
brooks, with cryftal ftreams. The greater
art of the country is covered with feveral
kinds of deciduous trees; for I fearcely faw a
fingle tree of the fir kind, if I except a few
red cedars. The foreft was high, but open
below, fo that it left a free profpect to the
eye, and ho under-wood obftruéted the paf-
fage between the trees. It would have
been eafy in fome places to have gone ‘un-
der the branches with a carriage for a quar-
ter of a mile, the trees ftanding at great
diftances rae each other, and the ground
being very level. In fome places: little
glades opened, which were either meadows,
paftures, or corn-fields; of which latter
fome were cultivated and others not. In a
few places, feveral houfes were built clofe
to each other. But for the greateft part
they were fin In’ part of the fields the
wheat bap taay’ ‘fown, in the Enghfh
K 3 manner

150 October 1748.

manner without trenches, but with furrows
pretty clofe together. [fometimesfaw the
country people very bufy in fowing their
rye. Near every farm-houfe was a little
field with maize. The inhabitants herea-
bouts were commonly either Engh ‘he or
Swedes.

Aut the day long I faw a toe vari-
ety of trees; walnut trees of different:forts,
which were all full of nuts ; chefnut’ trees
quite: covered with fine chefnuts° mulber-
ties, faflafras, cat pers trees, and
many others. Sy ke ae!

SEVERAL f{pecies of vines grew wild
hereabouts. They run up to the fummits
of the trees, their clufters of grapes :and
their leaves covering the ftems. 1 even faw
fome young oaks five or fix fathoms high,
whofe tops werescrowned with vines.. The
ground is that which is fo common herea-
bouts, which I have already defcribed, viz.
a clay mixed witha great quantity of fand,
and covered with a rich. foil or vegetable
earth. ‘The vines are principally feen on
trees which ftand fingle in corn-fields, and

at the end of woods, where the meadows,
paftures, and fields begin, and likewife
along the enclofures, where they cling with
their tendrils round the trees which ftand

phere. Phe lower parts of the plant are
| full

Penfylvania, fourney to Wilmington. 151
full of grapes, which hang below the leaves,

and were now almoft ripe, and had a plea-
fant fourith tafte. Thecountry people ga-
ther them in great quantities, and fell them
inthe town. They are eaten without fur-
ther preparation, and commonly people are
prefented with them when they come to pay
a vifit. \
‘-»'TueE foil does not feem to be deep herea-
bouts; for the upper black ftratum is hard-
ly two inches. This I had an occafion to
fee both in fuch places where the ground is
dug up, and in fuch where the water, du-
ring heavy fhowers of rain, has madecuts,
which are pretty numerous here. The up-
per foil has a'dark colour, and the next a
pale colour like bricks. I have obferved
every where in America, that the depth of
the upper foil does not by far agree with
the computation of fome people, though
we can almoft be fure, that in fome places
it never was ftirred fince the deluge. I
fhall be more. particular in this refpect af-
terwards.*
K 4 THE

_ * Tue learned Dr. Wallerius, in his Mineralogy, §. 8. in
the note to the article, Humus communis atra, mentions that »
fome people were of opinion, that the mould of our globe in-
creafed gradually from the yearly putrefaction of plants and
their parts, efpecially in fuch places as had been uncultiva-
ted ever fince the deluge, and that thus in a hundred years,
| , half

152 Obfebenara8. ows Nees

Tur Datura Stramoniumy or Thorn Ap>
ple grows in great quantities near alk the
villages, Its height..i8 different aceording
tothe foil it isin. « For in .ay rich: foil at

ots ' i] th op oo grows:

half an inch of mould was produced. But he obferves in the
fame time, that this obfervation was not at all exact ; for as.
the common mould feldom exceeds a foot, it muft from j
thence. follow, that fince the déluge no more than, 2400 years”
were elapfed, though the fcripture chro ology reckons up-
wards Of 4000 years fince that. event: Beats this, he re-
marks, that mould always becomes more dry and compréffed,
where.it is out of the reach of rain and fnow; and where it,
is expofed to rain, it is Lies de ones laces, and
therefore increafes and decreafes according to the dstidas oF
its local fituation, Moreover, renstapienasis known profper_
the bef, where mould is found. As the furface of our globe
has been covered with vegetables fince the deluge, they muft
have had a mould to grow in ever fince that time; confe-
quently itis highly probable, that there yy) been a
monld covering the furface of our globe, ever fince the firft .
origin, I fhouwld be led by fome other confiderations, to
doubt of the infallibility of this rule for the, inereafe of
mould. In Ruffia, on this fide the river Volga, are high and
exténfive plains, which have been uncultivated ever fince the
deluge, for we know from hiftory, that the Scythzans, Sarma-
trans, Huus, Chazars, and Mogols, were. fucceffively the

inafters of thefe vaft countries, and were altogether nomadic
nations, who lived without agriculture; ae country has
been without wood fince time immemorial, nor could there
even {pring up any wood whatfoever, fince its rambling pof-
feflors every {pring fet fire to the old dry grafs, in order to
make room for the new grafs, which in the latter end of May,
I found come’ up very near, to my waift. And thefe yaft, de-
fart plains, I faw every where covered with at leaft two. feet
thould; nay, in fome places it amounted to four feet; this
would pive according to the former rule of half.an inch per
cénitaty, 4800 years, in the fir inflance, and in the fecond,
g666 years, and thérefore fhews that this tule. for, cal ulatin
the ihcreafe of mould, is very précarious. ° The ores
! analy fis

Penfyluania, “fourney to Wilmington. 153

grows eight or ten feet high, but in a hard
and! poor ground, it will feldom come up.
tofix inches: This Datura, together with
the \Phytolacca, or American Night/hade,
growhere in thofe places near the gardens,
houfes,
atialyfis of plants, fhews that they confit of water, earth,
acid, alkali, oil, and an inflammable principle, independent
of the laft fubftance, and called by a late German chemift the
tauftic: thefe fubftances muft enter yearly the new plants,
and make their fubftance, and are as it were regenerated in
thefe new plants, after being fet at liberty from the’ ructure
of the laft year’s plants by putrefaction, or by fre. Mould
chemically examined, has the fame analogous parts. Acid _
and cauftic are plentifully contained in the common air, and
may alfo eafily be reftored to the mould, and thus circulate
through a new fyftem of plants. Water comes likewife from
rain and fnow, out of our atmofphere: alkaline and oily
particles, or a kind of /oaf, are the only things wanting,
which when’ added with the former to any fubtle earth, wall
make a good mould; and thefe are produced by putrefaction —
or firé, from vegetable and animal fubftances, and are the
great promoters of vegetation. | pee eth ied
Bur the great queftion is, from whence thefe various
fabftances neceffary for vegetation originally came? To.
believe they are produced from putrified vegetables is
begging the queftion, and making a circulus vitio/us
in the argument. Tiere is therefore no evafion; they
were 2artaiily roalicel” By the great Creator of the uni-
verfe, and endowed with fuch qualities; as make them
vest of producing in various mixtures new bodies ; and.
when they are introduced by moifture, into the firft ftamina |
of a plant, ora feed, they expand thefe ftamina, and conftitute —
a new ee of affording food to the animal creati-
on. Itis evident, Mr. Ka/m hinted at the above-mentioned
opinion of the increafe of mould, and this gave me an oppor-
tunity of confirming his argument, and of ftating fairly the
great queftion o iach agriculture, the moft neceflary branch
of human arts depends. F. cou he gelligesy

154. Odtober 1748.

houfes, and roads, which in Sweden are co=
vered }with: nettles and goofe-foot,) which ~
European plants are very {carce in America.
But the Datura and Phytolacca are the worft
weeds here, nobody: knowing «any partion;
lar ufe. of them.

TuURNEP-FIELDS are fometimes to be.
feen. In the middle of the highroad I per-
ceived a dead black fnake, which was four
feet fix inches long, and an inch:and a half
in .thicknefs. It anere to. thas au
leland ice: cede sy ieb iee
- Late at night a great: Esa appeared
round the moon. The people faid that it
prognofticated either a ftorm, or rain, or
both together. The fmaller the ring 1s, or
the nearer it comes to the moon, the foon-
er this weather fets in. But this time
neither of thefe changes happened, and
the halo had foretold a coldnefs in the air,

I saw to-day the Chermes of the alder
(Chermes Alni) in great abundance on the
branches of that tree, which for that reafon
looks quite white, and at a diftance. ap-
pears as it were covered with mould.

Oéfober the 4th. I continued my jour-
ney early in the morning, and the country
ftill had the fame appearance as I went on.
It was a continual: chain of pretty high
hills, with an eafy afcent on all fides, and of

vallies

Penfylvuania, Sfourney to Wilmington. 155

yvallies between them. The foil confiftted
of a brick coloured ‘mould, mixed with
clay, andia few pebbles, I rode fometimes
through woods of feveral forts of trees, and
fometimesamidft little fields, which had been
cleared of the wood, and which at prefent were
corn-fields, meadows, and paftures. The
farm-houfes ftood fingle, fometimes near
the roads, and fometimes at a little diftance
from them, fo that the {pace between the
road and the houfes was taken up with lit-
tle fields and meadows. Some of the
houfes’ were built of ftone, two {ftories
high, and covered with fhingles of the
white:cedar. But moft of the houfes’ were
wooden, iand: the crevices ftopped up with
clay, inftead of mofs, which we make ufe
of for that purpofe. No valves were'to be
met with inthe chimneys, and the people
even did not know what I meant by them.
The ovens were commonly built up at fome
diftance from the houfes, and were either
under a roof, or without any covering
againft:the weather. |The fields bore part-
ly buck-wheat, -which was not yet cut,
partly maize, and partly wheat, which was
but lately fown.; but fometimes they lay
fallow. The vines climbed to the top of
feveral trees, and hung down again on both
fides. Other trees again were furrounded:
bythe ivy (Hedera quinguefoha) which

3 with

156 Odfober 1748.

with the fame flexibility afcended to a gteat
height. The Sizlax laurifolia always join-
ed with the ivy, and together with it twift-
ed itfelf round the trees. ‘The leaves of
the ivy were at this time commonly red
difh, but thofe of the vine were {till quite
green. The trees which were furrounded
with them, looked at a diftance like thofe
which are covered with hops in our coun-
try, (and on feeing them from afar off, one
might expect to find wild. hops climbing
upon the trees.) Walnut and chefnut trees
were common near enclofures, in woods,
and on hills, and at prefent were loaded
with their fruit. The perfimon was like-
wife plentiful near the roads, and in the
woods. It had a great quantity of fruit,
but they were not yet fit for eating, fide
the froft had not foftened them. At fome
diftance from Wilmington, I patted a bridge
over a little river, which falls north into
the Delaware. The rider pays here two-
pence toll for himfelf and his horfe.
TowARps noon I arrived at Wilmington.
WILMINGTON Is a ‘little © town, about
thirty Engi/> miles fouth-wett from Phila-
delbbia. Jt was founded in the year 1733-
Part of it ftands upon the erounds belong-
ing to the Swedid church, “which anhually —
receives certain rents, out of, which’ ‘shiby

a

Penfyluania, Wilmington. 157

y the : ninifter’s falary, and employ. the
for o ther. ufes.. The. houfes are built

a pe look very pretty; yet they
are not built clofe together, t but large open
place sate left between them. The quakers
havea. meeting- -houfe i in this town., The
Swedife ehurch, which I intend te mention
in in the fequel, is half a mile out of town
oh wats. _ The parfonage is under . the
tine roof with the church. A little river
called Chri/tina-Aill pafles by the town, and
from thence falls into the Delaware. By
following its banks one goes three miles
before one teaches the De/eware. The river
is faid to be fufficien tly deep, fo that the
greateft vefiel may come quite uptothetown:
‘for at its mouth or jundture with the De/z-
‘ware, it is fhalloweft, and yet its depth even
there when the water is loweft, is from two
fathoms to. two and a half... But as you go
higher its depth encreafes tothree, three le
half, and: even four fathoms. The elargeft thips
therefore may fafely, and with their fult
cargaes, come to, and from the town with
thetide. 1] From Wilmington, you have a fine
profpect - Ad @ great part of the river Delg-
ware, and the fhips failing on it. On both
fides ae the river Chriffina-hill, almoft from
the | place, where the redoubt is built to its
: the Delaware, are low mea~«

ich afford a great quantity of Bay

158 Odtober.1748:.

to the inhabitants.. The town carries ona _
confiderable trade, and would have been
more enlarged, if Philadelphia and New-
caftle, which are both towns of 4 more anci-
ent date, were not fo near on’ both fides of its
Tue Redoubt upon’ the river Chriftina-
kill, was ereéted this fummer, when it was
known that the French and Spani/h priva-
teers intended to fail up the river, and to at=
- tempt alanding. It ftands, according tothe
accounts of the late Rev. Mr. Tranberg,
on the fame fpot, where the Swedes had’
built theirs. It is remarkable, » that on
working in the ground this fummer, ‘to
make this redoubt, an old Swedi/h filver coin
of Queen Céhriffina, not quite fo big asa.
fhilling was found at the depth of a yard,
among fome other things. The Rev. Mr.
Tranberg afterwards prefented me with it.
On one fide were the arms of the houfe of
Wafa with the infcription: CHRISTINA.
D. G. DE. RE. SVE. that is, Chraftina, by
the grace of God, eleéted Queen of Sweden; and
near this the year of our Lord 1633. On ~
the reverfe were thefe words: MONETA:
NOVA REGNI SVEC. or, 4 new coin of
the kingdom of Sweden. At the fame time a—
number of old iron tools, fuch as “axes,
fhovels, and the like, -were difcovered.’
The redoubt,. that is now erected, Kacy
O

Penfyhuania, Wilmington. 159

of bulwarks of planks, with a rampart on
the outfide. Near it is the: powder maga-
zine, in a vault built. of bricks. At the
erection of, this little fortification it was re-
markable, that the quakers, whofe tenets
reject even) defenfive war, were as bufy as
the other. people in building it. For the
fear of being every moment fuddenly.at-
tacked by privateers, conquered all other
thoughts... Many of them {fcrupled to put
their own hands tothe work ;_ but forward-
edit by fupplies of money, and by getting

ready every thing, which was necefiary. |
_ Odfober the 5th. Ir. was my defign: to
crofs the De/aware, and to get into New
Ferfey with a view to get acquainted with
the country; but as there was no ferry
here to bring my horfe over, I fet out on
my return. to Philadelphia. I partly went
along the high road, and partly deviated on
one,or the other fide of it, in order to take
more exact obfervations of the country, and
of its natural hiftory. 3
* Tue maize, was fown in feveral places.
In fome its ftalks were cut fomewhat below
the ear, dried. and put up in narrow high
ftacks, in.ordet to keep them as.a food for the
cattle in winter. The lower part of the ftalk
had likewife leaves, but as they commonly
dry of themfelves, the people do not like to
feed

160 . OGfober 1748.

feed the cattle with them, all their flavour |
being loft. But the upper ones are cut, —
whilft they are yet green. —

TuE vallies between the hills commonly
contain brooks: but they are not very broad,
and require no bridges, fo that carriages and -
horfe can eafily pafs through them; for the
water is feldom above fix inches deep.

THE leaves of moft trees were yet quite
green, fuch as thofe of oaks, chefnut trees,
black walnut trees, hiccory, tulip trees,
and faflafras. The two latter fpecies are —
found in plenty on the fides of the little
woods, on hills, on the fallow fields, near
hedges, and on the road. The perfimon
likewife had {till its leaves; however fome
trees. of this kind had dropt them. The
leaves of the American bramble were at pre-
fent almoft entirely red, though fome of
thefe bufhes yet retained a lively green in
the leaves. The Cornelian cherry likewile
had already a mixture of brown and pale
leaves. The leaves of the red maple heen”
alfo red.

I coNTINUED my journey to Cicbeflers ;
a borough upon the De/aware, where tra-
vellers pafs the river in a ferry. They
build here every year a number of {mall
fhips for fale, From an iron work which
| -» hes

Penfylvania, Return from Wilmington. 161

lies higher in the country, they carry iron
bars to this place, and fhip them. |
Canozs are boats made of one piece of
wood, and are much in ufe with the farm-
ers, and other people upon the Delaware,
and fome little rivers. For that purpofe a
very thick trunk of a tree is hollowed out 3
the red juniper or red cedar tree, the white
cedar, the chefnut tree, the white oak, and
the tulip tree are commonly made ufe of
for this purpofe. The canoes made of red
and white cedar are reckoned the beft, be-
caufe they fwim very light upon the water,
and laft twenty years together. But of
thefe, the red cedar canoes are moft prefe-
-table. Thofe made of chefnut trees will
likewife laft for a good while.‘ But thofe
of white oak are hardly ferviceable above
fix years, and alfo {wim deep, becaufe they
are fo heavy. The Liguidambar tree, ot
Liquidambar flyracifiua, Linn. is big enough
but unfit for making canoes, becaufe it
imbibes the water. The canoes which
ate made of the tulip tree, fcarce laft
fo long as thofe of white oak. The fize
of the ‘canoes is different, according to
the purpofes they are deftined for. They
can carry fix perfons, who however, muft
-by no means be unruly, but fit at the bot-
tom of the canoe in the quieteft manner
L poffible,

162 — Odtober 1748.

pofiible, left the boat overfet. The Swedes
in Penfylvania and New ‘Ferfey near the
rivers, have no other boats to go to Pdila-
delphia in, which they commonly do twice
a week on the market days, though they
be feveral miles diftant from the town,
and meet fometimes with fevere ftorms;
yet misfortunes from the overfetting, &c.
of thefe canoes are feldom heard of, though
they might well be expected on account of
the {mall fize of this kind of boats. How- |
ever a great deal of attention and care is
neceflary in managing the canoes, when
the wind is fomewhat violent ; for they are
narrow, round below, have no keel, and
therefore may eafily be overfet. Accord-
ingly when the wind is more brifk than
ordinary, the people make for the land.

THE common garden crefles grow in fe-
veral places on the roads about Chichefler,
and undoubtedly come from the feeds,
which were by chance carried out of the
many gardens about that town.

Tue American brambles are here in great
plenty. When a field is left uncultivated,
they are the firft plants that appear on it;
and I frequently obferved them in fuch
fields as are annually ploughed, and have
corn fown on them. For when thefe buth-
€s are once rooted, they are not \eafily ex-

tirpated.

Penfylvania, Return from W. ilmington, 163 |

tirpated. Such a bufh runs out tendrils
fometimes four fathoms off its root, and
then throws a new root, fo that on pulling
it up, you meet with roots on both ends.
On fome old grounds, which had long been
uncultivated, there were fo many buthes of |
this kind, that it was very troublefome and
dangerous walking in them. A wine is
made of the berries, as I have already men-
tioned. The berries are likewife eaten
when they are ripe, and tafte well. No
other ufe is made of them.

Oober the 6th. Tue Chenopodium an~
thelminticum is very plentiful on the road,
and on the banks of the river, but chiefly
in dry places ina loofe fandy foil. The

Englifh who are fettled.here, call it Worm- , ,
feed and Ferufalem Oak. It has a difagree- * °

able fcent. In Penfylvania and New *er-
fey its feeds are given to children, againft
the worms, and for that purpofe they are
excellent. The plant itfelf is {fpontaneous
in both provinces.

Tue environs of Chichefer, contain many
gardens, which are full of apple trees,
finking under the weight of innumera-
ble apples. Moft of them are winter fruit,
and therefore were yet quite four. Each farm
has a garden, and fo has each houfe of the
better fort. The extent of thefe gardens is
, L2 likewife

164 October 1748.

likewife not inconfiderable, and thereforé
affords the poffeffor all the year long, great
fupplies in his houfe-keeping, both for eat-
ing and drinking. ‘I frequently was fur-
prized at the prudence of the inhabitants of
this country. As foon as one has bought a
piece of ground, which is neither built up-
on nor fown, his firft care is to get young
apple trees, and to make a garden. He
next proceeds to build his houfe, and laftly
prepares the uncultivated ground to receive
corn. For it is well known that the trees
require many years before they arrive to
perfection, and this makes it neceflary to
plant them firft. I now perceived near the
farms, mills, wheels, and other inftru-
ments which are made ufe of in crufhing
the apples, in order to prepare cyder from
them afterwards.

From Chichefer 1 went on towards Phi-
ladelphia. The oaks were the moft plenti-
ful trees in the wood. But there were fe-
veral {pecies of them, all different from the
European ones. The {wine now went about —
in great herds in the oak woods, where
they fed upon the acorns which fell in great
abundance from the trees. Each hog had
a wooden triangular yoke about its neck,
by which it was hindered from penetrating
through the holes in the enclofuress” es

Or

a

Penfyluania, Return from Wilmington. 165

for this reafon, the enclofures are made
very flender, and eafy to put up, and do
not require much wood. No other enclo-
fures are in ufe, but thofe which are fo like
fheep hurdles. A number of {quirrels were
in the oak woods, partly running on the
ground, and partly leaping from one branch
to another; and at this time they chiefly
fed upon acorns.

I s—tpom faw beach trees; but I found
them quite the fame with the European ones.
Their wood is reckoned very good for
making joiner’s planes of.

I po not remember feeing any other than
the dlack Ants, or Formica nigra in Penfyl-
vania. They are as black as a coal, and of
two forts, fome very little, like the leaft of
our ants, and others of the fize of our com-
mon reddifh ants. I have not yet obferved
any hills of theirs, but only feen fome run-
ning about fingly. In other parts of Ame-
rica, I have likewife found other fpecies of
ants, as I intend to remark in the fequel.

._ <THE common Privet, or Ligufirum vul-
gare, is made ufe of in many places, as a
hedge round corn-fields and gardens, and
on my whole voyage, I did not fee that any
other trees were made ufe of for this pur-
pofe, though the Engh/hmen here, well
know that the hawthorn makes a much bet-

L 3 ter

$66 Oétober 1748.

ter hedge. The privet hedges grow very
thick and clofe, but having no fpines, the
hogs, and even other animals break eafily
through them; and when they have once
made a hole, it requires a long while before
it grows up again. But when the hedges
confift of f{pinofe bufhes, the cattle will
hardly attempt to get through them. —
_ AgBouT noon I came through Chefer, 4
little market-town which lies on the De/a-
qware. A rivulet coming down out of the
country, pafles through this place, and dif- _
charges itfelf into the Delaware. ‘There is
a bridge over it. The houfes ftand difperf-
ed. Mott of them are built of ftone, and
two or three ftories high; fome are how-
ever made of wood. [In the town is a
church, and a market-place. “
WHEAT was now fown every where. In
fome places it was already green, having
been fown four weeks before. The wheat
fields were made in the Engh/b manner, —
having no ditches in them, but numerous
furrows for draining the water, at the dif-
tance of four or fix foot from one another.
Great ftumps of the trees which had been
cut down, are every where feen on the
fields, and this fhews that the country has
been but lately cultivated. |
THE foots of the trees do not go deep
, into

Penfylvania, Return from Wilmington. 167

into the ground, but fpread horizontally.
I had opportunities of ob{erving this in fe-
veral places where the trees were dug up;
for I feldom faw one, whofe roots went
above a foot deep into the ground, though
it was a loofe foil. |

_ Asout two Exglj/h miles behind Chefer,
I pafied by an iron forge, which was to the
right hand by the road fide. It belonged
to two brothers, as I wastold. The ore
however is not dug here, but thirty or for-
ty miles from hence, where it is firft
melted in the oven, and then carried to
this place. The bellows were made of
leather, and both they and the hammers,
and even the hearth, but {mall in proporti-
on to ours. All the machines were work-
ed by water. The iron was wrought into
bars.

To day I remarked, as 1 have fince fre-
quently feen on my travels in this country,
that horfes are very greedy of apples. When
they are let into an orchard to feed upon
the grafs, if there are any apples on the
ground, they frequently leave the freth
green grafs, and eat the apples, which,
however, are not reckoned a good food for
them ; and befides that, it is too expefpifive.

THe red Maple, or Acer rubrum, is plen-
tiful in thefe places. Its proper fitdations

L 4 are

168 — Odtober 1748. ah

are chiefly {wampy, wet places, in which
the alder commonly is its companion. Out
of its wood they make plates, {pinning-
wheels, rolls, feet for chairs and beds, and
all forts of work. With the bark, they
dye both worfted and linnen, giving it a
dark blue colour. For that purpofe it. 1s
firft boiled in water; and fome copperas,
fuch as the hat-makers and fhoe-makers
commonly make ufe of, is added, before
the {tuff (which is to be dyed) is put into
the boiler. This bark likewife affords a
good black ink. When the tree is felled
early in {pring, a {weet juice runs out of it,
like that which runs out of our birches.

This juice they do not make any ufe of
here; but in Canada, they make both trea-
cle and fugar of it. Here is a variety of
this tree which they call the curled Maple,
the wood being as it were marbled within ;
it is much ufed in all kinds of joiner’s work,
and the utenfils made of this wood, are pre-
ferable to thofe made of any ovlileh fort of
wood in the country, and are much dearer ©
than thofe made of the wood of the wild
cherry trees (/ Prunus Virginsana) or of black
walnut trees. But the moft valuable utenfils
were thofe made of curled black walnut, for
that is an exceflive fcarce kind of wood.
The curled maple was likewife very un-
| com-

Penfylvania, Return from Wilmington. 169

common, and you frequently find trees,
whofe outfides are marbled, but their infide
not. The tree is therefore cut very deep
before it is felled, to fee whether it has
veins in every part. pees |
In the evening I reached Philadelphia.

_ Odfober the 7th. In the morning we
crofled the De/aware in a boat to the other
fide which belongs to New ‘fer/fey, each per-
fon paying fourpence for his paflage. The
country here is very different from that in
Penfylvania; for here the ground 1s almoft
mere fand, but in the other province it is

_. mixed with a good deal of clay, and this

makes the ground pretty rich. The dif-
coveries which I made to day of infeé&s
and plants, I intend to mention in another
work. |

. A sort like this in New ‘erfey, one
might be led to think, could produce no-
thing becaufe it is fo dry and poor. Yet
the maize which is planted on it grows
extremely well, and we faw many fields
filled with it. The earth is of that kind
in which tobacco commonly fucceeds, but
it is not near forich. The ftalks of maize
are commonly eight feet high, more or
lefs, and are full of leaves. The maize
is planted as ufual in rows, in little {quares,
fo that there is a {pace of five feet and fix
| inches

170 Offober 1748.

inches between each fquare, both in length
and breadth; of each of thefe little hills
three or four ftalks come up, which were not
yet cut for the cattle; each ftalk again’
has from one to four ears, which are large
and full of corn. A fandy ground could
never have been better employed. In fome
places the ground between the maize is
ploughed, and rye fown in it, fo that when
the maize is cut, the rye remains upon the
field. ie

We frequently faw <A/paragus growing
near the enclofures, in a loofe foil, on un-
cultivated fandy fields. Itis likewife plen-
tiful between the maize, and was at prefent
full of berries, but I cannot tell whether
the feeds are carried by the wind to the
places where I faw them; it is however
certain, that I have likewife feen it grow-
ing wild in other parts of America.

Tue Worm-feed, is likewife plentiful on
the roads, in a fandy ground fuch as that
near the ferry oppofite to Philadelphia.
I have already mentioned that it is given to
children, as a remédy to carry off the
worms. It is then put into brandy, and
when it has been in it for one hour, it is
taken out again, dried and given to the
children, either in beer fweetened with
treacle, or in any other liquor. Its effects

are

Penfylvania, Return from Wilmington. 17%

are talked of differently. Some people fay
it kills the worms, others again pretend
that it forwards their encreafe. But I know
by my own experience, that this worm-
feed has had very good effects upon children.

Tue Purflain, which we cultivate in
our gardens, grows wild in great abundance
in the loofe fo1l amongft the maize. It
was there creeping on the ground, and its
ftalks were pretty thick and fucculent;
which circumftance very juftly gave reafon
to wonder from whence it could get juice
fufficient to fupply it in fuch a dry ground.
It is to be found plentiful in fuch foil, in
other places of this country.

Tue Bidens bipinnata, is here called Spa-
nifh Needles. It grows fingle about farm
houfes, near roads, pales and along the
hedges. It was yet partly in flower; but
for the greateft part it was already out of
blofiom. When its feeds are ripe it is very
difagreeable walking where it grows. For
they ftick to the cloaths and make them
black ; and it is difficult to difcharge the
black fpots which they occafion. Each
feed has three {pines at its extremity; and
each of thefe again is full of numerous little
hooks, by which the feed faftens itfelf to the
cloaths.

In the woods and along the hedges in

> cS

172 Odtober 1748.

this neighbourhood, fome fingle red Ants,
(Formica rubra) crept about, and their
antenne or feel-horns were as long as their
bodies.

Towarps night we returned to Phila-
delphia.

Oéfober the 8th. Tur thore of Penfyl-
vania has a great quantity of the. fineft
oyfters. About, this time the people began
to bring them to Philadelphia for fale.
They come from that part of the fhore,
which is near the mouth of the river Dela-
ware. They are reckoned as good as the
New York oyfters, of which I fhall make
more particular mention afterwards. How-
ever I thought that this latter fort of oyfters
was generally larger, fatter and more pa-
latable. Itis remarkable that they com-
monly became palatable at the time when ,
the agues had left off their fury. Some men
went with whole carts full of oyfters, ery-.
ing them about the ftreets ; this is unufual
here when any thing elfe is to be fold, but
in London it is very common. ‘The oyfter
fhells are thrown away, though formerly
a lime was burnt from them, which has
been found unneceflary, there being ftones
for burning of lime in this neighbourhood,
and the lime of oyfter fhells not being as
good as this other lime. The people fhew-

ed

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 173

ed me fome houfes in this town which
were built of ftone, and to the mafon work
of which the lime of oyfter fhells had been
employed. The walls of thefe houfes were
always fo wet two or three days before a
rain, that great drops of water could plain-
ly be perceived on them; and thus they
were as good as Hygrometers.* Several
people who had lived in this kind of houfes
complained of thefe inconveniences. |
Odober the goth. Perase are not much
cultivated in Pen/ylvania at prefent, though
formerly, according to the accounts of
fome old, Swedes, every farmer had a little
field with peafe. In New ‘ferfey and the
fouthern parts of New York, peafe are like-
wife not fo much cultivated as they ufed to
be. But in the northern parts of New
York, or about Albany, and in all the parts
of Canada which are inhabited by the
French, the people fow great quantities,
and have a plentiful crop. In the former
colonies, a little defpicable infeét has obli-
ged the people to give up fo ufeful a part of
agriculture. This little infect was formerly
WER little

* As the fhells of oyfters are a marine animal produétion,
and their cavities are full of particles of fea-water, the moif-
ture of it flies off, leaving behind its falt; when the thells
are burnt, and the lime is flacked, the falt mixes with the
dime: and though the mortar of fuch a lime grows ever fo
dry, the particles of falt immediately attract the moifture of
the air, and caufe that dampnefs complained of here. F.

174 _ OGfober 1748.

little known, but a few years ago it multi-
plied exceflively. It couples in fummer,
about the time when the peafe are in blof-
fom, and then depofites an egg into almoft
every one of the little peafe. When the
peafe are ripe, their outward appearance

does not difcover the worm, which, how--

ever, is found within, when it is cut.
This worm. lies in the pea, if it is not ftir-
red during all the winter, and part of the
{pring, and in that {pace of time confumes
the greateft part of the infide of the pea:
In {pring therefore little more than the
mere thin outward {kin is left. This worm
at laft changes into an infect, of the coleop-

tera clafs, andin that ftate creeps through

a hole of its own making in the hufk,

and flies off, in order to look for new fields
of peafe, in which it may couple with

its cogeneric infects, and provide food fuf-
ficient for its pofterity.

TuHIs noxious infe& has fpread from
Penfylvania to the north. . For the country
of New York, where it is common at pre-
fent, has not been plagued with it above
twelve or fifteen years ago; and before that
time the people fowed peafe every year
' without any inconvenience, and had excel-
lent crops. But by degrees thefe little
enemies came in fuch numbers, that the

inhabitants

aa

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 175

inhabitants were forced to leave off fowing
of peafe. The people complained of this
in feveral places. The country people
about Albany have yet the pleafure to fee
their fields of peafe not infected by thefe
beetles, but are always afraid of their ap-
proach; as it has been obferved they come
every year nearer to that province. |
I Know not whether this infe@ would
live in Europe, and I fhould think our
Swedifb winters muft kill the worm, even
if it be ever fo deeply inclofed in the pea;
notwithftanding it is often as cold in New
York {where this infect is {o abundant) as in
our country, yet it continues to multiply here
every year, and proceeds always farther to
the north. 1 was very near bringing fome
of thefe vermin into Europe, without know-
ing of it. Atmy departure from America, I
took fome {weet peas with me in-a paper,
and they were at that time quite frefh and
green. But on opening the paper after my
arrival at Stockholm, on Auguft the rf.
1751; I found all the peas hollow, and
the head of an infect peeping out of each.
Some of thefe infects even crept out, in or-
der to try the weather of this new climate ;
but I made hafte, to fhut the paper again,
in order to prevent the {preading of this
‘wedi ds aa - Noxious

B
‘wo

176 .OGaber. ‘allied
noxious-,infect.*.. Lars. hel i
2 ts suswmneres & frig

perceived, 't t!

vipers ie L: at ak iedvexplecqees
tT 2 oe damage},which, ny, dear country
would. have fuffered, if. only. two. or three
of thefe,noxious infects.:had) efcapedome
The pofterity of many familiesy andeventhe
inhabitants of whole: provincesy::wouldist
had. fufficient: ‘reafon «to, detefts mesdsvthe
caufe of fo great.a; calamity! »Ieafterwands
fent, fame.of them, though: well feduredy ito
count, Tefin, and to:Dr. Linnaeus, stogethér
with,an:account, of their. rata =
ties}; Dr.) Linneus has: ag ya wferu
defcription of them in an Academical Di
fertation,!;which has. been drawn
his. prefidency, and, treats,of theydamage
made, by ,infects.}) ,j He theresgalls this inns
feGthe Bruchus of) Nor tha Amerecaust a
8 pS? E ia i J8HNIS F10 ney ors inocwas
a dint a Fi e's 760 ij sobed dea te) lave

“rope Hua, Mica Fey vattt pearing

“iboe Nature, that the boa countries of Europe are al-
ready infefted with it; Scopo/z mentions it among his Infe@a
Carni alice B 3. and G ong his Parifian, Inf

bly 2D. 2 asi ae! 12s ah Veit x £ 2 it sig fine

“es ii aor vs Sones b

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 9

‘was very peculiar that every pea in the
paper was eaten without exception.
_ Wuen the inhabitants of Penfylvania
fow peafe procured from abroad, they are
not commonly attacked by thefe infects
for the firft year; but in the next they take
poffeffion of the pea. It is greatly to be
withed that none of the fhips which annu»
ally depart from New York or Penfylvania,
may bring them into the European coun+
tries: From hence the power of a fingle
defpicable infect will plainly appear; as
alfo, that the ftudy of the ceconomy and of
the qualities of infects, is not to be looked
upon as a mere paftime and ufele{s employ -
ment.* — |

Tue Rhus radicans is a fhrub or tree
which grows abundantly in this country;
and has incommon with the ivy, called He-
dera arborea, the quality of not growing
without the fupport either of a tree, a
wall, or a hedge. I have feen it climb-
ing to the very top of high trees in the

this M - woods,
this bird has been profcribed by the legiflature of Pexflva-
nia, New Ferfey, and New England as a maize-thief, they
feel the imprudence of extirpating this bird; for a

atm of worms which formerly were eaten by thefe birds

Jeftroy their meadows at prefent. F.

-_* TF the fe weré fteeped before they are fown, in a lie
water and fome diflolved arfenic, the pupa or aurelia

f the infec’ would be killed. F.

178 Odtober 1748.

woods, and \its branches fhoot, out every
where, little roots, .' which, faftem upon
thes tree and as, it- were. enter) lintol sit.
When, the ftem as cut) it emits vanpale
brown fap. of -a difagreeable {cent.|, This
fap:is fo fharp that the letters and charac-
ters, made.upon:linnen with it,) cannot be
got Out-again, but grow blacker the, more,
the .cloath is wafhed... Boys «commonly
marked their names.on their linnen with
this-juice.. If you write»withait/on papers
the Jetters never go out, but, grow, blackér.
from time to time. mots
Tats. {pecies. of .Sumach has thefame
noxious qualities as the poifonous-fumach,
or. Potfon-tree, which Ihave aboveldefcribed,
being poifonous to fome peoples. though
not.to. every oné. \ Therefore; albthat has
been: faid of ‘the. peities tree is. hikewife ap=
plicable to this; excepting that, the formes.
has 'the ftronger poifon.., HoweverI have’
feen, people who have been as:much fwelled,
from, the. noxious exhalations of the latter,
as they could. have, been from’ thole. of, the;
former. .. I likewife, know, that of two fil.
ters, the, one could, manage the tree without,
being affected: by, its, venom,,.though, thé
other immediately felt it as'foonsas the,ex-
halations . of the, tree, came, near, her,, or
when. ever fhecame Es ae oy too\near the

*

Penfylvania, Germantown. 179

tree, and even when fhe ftood in the way
ofthe wind, ‘ which blew directly from this’
fhrub.' But upon me'this {pecies of famach’
hasunever exherted ‘its ‘power, ‘though F
made above» a hundred: experiments ‘upon
owith the’ greateft : ftems, and« ithe
nee {quirted into'my eye, -withowt
pees melanysharm. On another: perfon's:
hand*which Ivhad covered very thick with!
it, ‘theifkin afew hours after “became! ag’
hard:as a piece of tanned leather, and peeled’
off-im the*following. wien as if little {eales’
fell fromit. amid aout
- Obtober the rothy. ‘awidhe morning’ I ac-
co ied Mii :Oack: tohis’'country’ feat;:
which ie about nine miles from nee 10!
to’ the north)». by gig Lad
THover sda wendld 2 Pesfploniite : afford
many oaks, and more fpecies of them than
are found ‘further “north; yet’ they do ‘not!
build foimatiy thips in this province as they
doin the! onortheriv°ones, and ‘efpecially'in
New England. «But ‘experience has taught
the’ people that the fame’ ‘kind of trees’ is
more’ durable: ‘the further it’ grows tothe
iiorth;ivand? that this advantage decreafes
the! morecit/grows in warm. elimates.® ” Ft is
likewifé plaincthat. the trees in the fouth’
grow \morevevery “year; ‘and form ‘thiéker
teigleroainas thofe in the®orth. ‘The! for’

M 2 mer

E80 vs Qeteder BRAS oo

memhave likewife much. greater tubesfor
theicireulation of the, fap. than the latter.
Asidfor. this, reafon: they..do, not, build:fc
many thips, ini ‘Renfylianiay as » they, do
inh New. England, ..though..more.than.in
Virginia and: Maryland; but Caroline
builds: very few,)and its merchants) get all
their fhips: from - New | England.>, Thole
which: are here made of the beft-oak, -hard-
ly...are,-ferviceable, above, ten,) jor, at moft

twelve years';,for ;then they, are,fo-rotten, ©
that no body. ventures 'to.go.te,feajim themy
Many\ captains: of;, hips . come, oyer from
England to North+ America, inorder toy get
ships built. -.But-moftof them.¢hoofe New
England, that being the eaniorenrs
province ;,.and..if} they ‘even}¢x = in >
fhips, which are; bound for Philadel, n
frequently. on-their,arrival fet tn iti |
fitvania for New, England. : The .Span iords
in the Weft Indies. are. Sauk sto -build.their
fhips of, a. peculiar, fort, of; /eedar,. owhich

holds.out againft putrefaGion.and, wets but
it, is not to be met, with, on..theccontinent
in}. ithe Engh/bi provinces. Here, are. above
nine different! i of oak, but not, one. of

./ them is;comparable, to the fingle {pecies we

‘. have |in| Sweden, with regard.to, its .good-
nefs;,;And-therefore.\a fhip,.of , Huropear

oak. cofts a great deal, ‘more Abpasenpinade |
of American oak. | Many

Penfyluania, Germantown. 181

(OMANY people who chiefly employed
thénifelves in® gardening, “had found inva
fuceeifion’6f years, thatthe red: Beer} which
grew But of the feed which was got from
New *York\ became very. {weet andHad‘a
very fine fafte ; bue that it every yearclot
part*of’its eoodnels, if it was’ cultivated
frém! feeds**which ‘were ‘pot here. ‘Phe
pedple were therefore obliged to get as many
feeds of red beet every'year from New York;
as were wanted ‘ih ‘their gardens.) Tt has
like Wife! beer? enerally ‘ obferved; ‘that ‘thé
plafits Which" are “produced ‘from > Engi
feéds'aré always “much better and more*a-
gteeable? that thofe'which‘come from feeds
of this ‘country. S39 n19d Jsd3 “way

7 In’ the"parden of Mr. Cock was a raddifh

which was*if the ‘loofe ‘foil, grown ‘big
a8to BE Leven ‘inches ‘in’ diameter!) “very
body that faw it, owned i¢was uncommon
to'fee them Gf fuch @fizedss oS odd
‘THAT fpecies df? Convelvulus which ‘is
commitily “éalled “Butatas, has ‘here> the
Hathe 6f Bermudian potatoes. The common
people} "and the gentry’ without ‘dittination

antedthéi in their’ gacdens: > 'This'is

BPR Lon em “teh
en NOr Ores

done in’ the ‘fame manner as with the corit
mon"pétatéés>" Some people made little hit.
locks} inté°which they put thefe potatoes’;
‘bit Others Only planted themvin Aaecbeds.

¥82 ~~ Oétaber 1748.

“Fhe foil muit be a mixture of fand andearth,
and neither too rich, nor too poor.) When
“they'are going to plant'them, they cut them,
‘asthe commion potatoes, taking care how-
Vever' that a bud or'two be left’: ‘upon each
“piece” which ‘is intended to be planted.
‘Their colour is commonly paekandth cit, and
yellow’ within: They are bigger thanthe
‘common fort, and have a fweet) and?
‘agreeable tafte, which I cannot®find’in'the
‘other potatoes, “in. artichokes! or! in any —
other - Toot, and they almoftumelt inthe
omouth. “Tt is not’ long finee theyhave been
‘planted’ here.0°' Phey ‘are « -dreffed in’ the
‘fain’ Davatiner’ as ‘commom' potatoés, ‘and
“eaten either along with them, or by them-
felvés:: ‘ They grow very faftvanid very!well
heres but the greatett diffieulty(confifts in
“keeping them over winter, fortheyewill bear
neither cold, nor? a great ‘heat; ‘nor wet.
| ‘They ‘muft thetefore be kept daring winter
ina box with fand ina ‘warm roomf!'In
\Penfyluania where\ they ‘have nto! valves i in
‘their'chimnies, they are put‘in fach’ a box
with ‘fand, at © fome diftance from the’ Gite, |
and there they are fecured both againtt froft
and againft over great heat. It will'not
“anfwer the purpofe to put them into: dry
fand in a cellar, as is commonly, done with
the common fort ‘of potatoes, For the
| peur

@

Penfylvania, Germantown. 183

moifture which is always in cellars, pene-
trates. the fand, and. mnakess them. putre+
bys Te would probably, be be» very »-eafy, to
keep -them-- in, Sweden:.in. warm. rooms,
during the cold feafon. But the difficulty

lies ‘wholly in bringing them over to Swe-
den. 1, carried a confiderable number jof

them: with. me on. leaving America, ijand
took all poflible care in, preferving,them.
-But.we-had-a-very violent ftorm at fea,..by
which the thip.was fo greatly damaged, that
-the,water,.got, in every: where, and wetted

eur cloaths,, beds. and. other moveables,fo
much, that we could, wring the water, out

-of.thems,;Jt is, therefore no wonder. that

my Bermuda. potatoes were rotten; . but.-as

‘they, are now), cultivated. .in Portugal, and

Spain, nay,evenin Exgland, it will be.eafy
to bring, them) into Sweden... The drink
which, the Spaniards prepare from thefe po-

tatoes in , their, American patie fons is,;not

ufualin Penfyvania.*®
_ Mr. Cock, had a, paper, mill, on a little

elie ,and. all the coarfer forts, of paper.are
amanufaG@ured, in it. It is,now annually

rented, for . fifty pounds cso ia
SENOYer st 2 caesad

ua YEE ~OIons 3 -M ato ttt

rhe oe sok yilaore

< " * Mr. Miller br deferibes th his, ees in om eandentes s Didi.
na

toe “under the article o Convolvulus, {peciés the t7th. and

184 SS OF TAB Po Vo

iuOeper the vith] » lorave: alteadyimen-
tioned }sthat every -couhtrymam hass

é¢ ots lefler nuniber of! apple’ trees planted
rolindohis! farmm-houte, from whence’h
gtedPquantities of fruit, :party of which she
fells, part he makes cyder of) and) pattohe
uesiinchisiowm “family foripyesytattss and
the likeig “However ‘here expe an
equab quantity of ‘di chevcestipewet tates
was told, that this year hadonotby far afe
forded: fuchi a great uantity of'applesias the
preveding 5: thecaufe’ of which» theytold
ime, was the: spontindal and ‘great drought
§n°the*month ‘of May, ~whichhadthurtial.
aheblofloms of the apple trees;:andvmade
them wither. The heat had been fo igreat
‘ds todry'u vall the: plants,’ andsthegrafs in
ano fields, oi has abish edsormods og: si7
toate: Polytrichum' commune, as fpecies oof
mots). grew. plentifullycon“wetiand ‘low
qmeadows between the ! woods (bridbin feve-
‘yal places iquite coveredthem,)\assour moff-
-esicoverthe meadows’ in ‘Sweden. dole was
likewife. very! iplenitifwhon ‘hillscnia. olde io
(AGRICULTURE wasn lavvery bad ftate
: hereabouts)’ ‘When»a 'perfon shad ibought:a
‘piece’ oft Jand, which | perhaps: had never
tise ploughed fince>'the: creation,s‘hevcut
down part of the wood; ‘toreoupithe roots,
Premed the! ground, fowed: corn suit

Penfylvania, Germantown. 185

andthe! firt time: got a plentiful) crops, But
the famedand being ‘tilled for -feveral |. years
comes ata ae being. manuredjit atlat
muft-ofcourfe lofe its fertility. Its:pofleflor
therefore leaves it fallow, and’ proceeds: to
another part of his ground, which; he tréats
in therfame manner. Thus he.goés:omfill
he has:changed.a great part of his pofféffions
into corn+fields, and: by: that means depri-
' wes the yground of sits; fertility. He: then
séturnstocthe-firftfield, which now) is pret
tyorwebki recovered); this: hes again ritidlss va
Jongoas itewill afford: him;a good crop, but
when dt& fértilitysis exhauftedj ; he deavesrit
pis 1: mam proceeds. tondbRotéte chs
ibeforel’nesd bsdtssrl od T © cisdiiw msds
ai Ir being! lameiaeae here, | to: dex the: cat-
tle go about the fields and in théswoods
‘both: day! and night;»the people cannot icol-
de&t much dung for manure. Butby leaving
the land>fallow for, feveral: years ‘together, a
Great quantity: of weeds {pring up init, and
eget fich ftrength, that cit» requires; a, confi-
derable time) to -extirpate'them.>)|,\From
shencesit dikewife; comes,: that the <corn is
salways<i{osmuch:mixed>with weeds« «>The
igreat tichnefs ofthe foil, which)-the firtt
European icolonits found: here, and which
had ineverjbeem ploughed before, hasogiven
gs this negleé& of agriculture,!, which is
bins till

186 Odfober 1748.

fill obferved -by many of the initabinases:
But) they do: mot confider, othat iwhennthe
earth is: quite exhaufted,.a great {pacesof
time;svand. aniinfinite deal ,of - ‘lsboursras
‘neceflary: to bring! uty again, into » good, or-
der; efpecially in thefe countries ihaae
are aimoft en fusion vforofcorehed

The rae i the conn ebablalat combifiedilesin
thin mould, :greatlyy mixed) withs:aschriek
' coloured)clay; anda quantity:of fimall- par-
ticles of glimmer. |This latter! came: from
» the ftones:owhich are here: almofbiievery
where-to:be met with at the'depth:of a:foot
or thereabouts.) Thefe little: pieces» \of
glimmer made re grand: {parkdes: salon
_ thenfanl fhonesuponsitsidrbak anit oniup Mc

-cAuMosT> all the Iheaiiciudiatecaliianies were
built either of ftone:or bricks; butiithofe
of {tone were moresnumerous. .) German-
town, which is about two: Englifh umiles
long, had no other houfes,) and: theycoun-
try houfes thereabouts, wereoalli: vbuilt».of
ftone. But there are-feveral varieties;-of
that .ftone which is commonly:made ufe-of
in building. Sometimes: it: confifted> of//a »
black or grey glimmer, running in undulated
veins, the {paces between ;their bendings
ws didiods an nian a bpeere ponies oa
s09iG: © ow cathgeained

Penfyluana, Germantown. 187

grained: limeftone, which was eafily friable.
‘Some tranfparent particles of quartz were
‘feattered in the mafs, ‘of which ;the glims
mer/made the -greateft parts: Itowasovery
»be cut, ‘and with-proper tools could
deiaity be: fhaped into any form !»Some-
‘times however the pieces: confifted of ia
blackj: fmall-grained» glimmer,’ ay white
fmall-grained fandftone, and fome iparticlés
of quartz, and the feveral:con{tituent parts
were well mixed together; and fometimes
the) ftone: had *broad: ftripes of | the) white
limeftones without any addition’ of) glim-
‘mer; but moft:commonly they were much
blended together;and of avgrey colour.
Sometimes: this {tone was found to confit
of quite fine and black pieces of glimmer,
cand aigrey,» loofe and ‘very {mall-grained
dimeftone. ° This was: likewifeo 0h voi

tobe-cut, being looles0
ool THESE: varieties of: ria dois are.com- .
monly°found clofe: together. They were
‘everys(where* tobe: met: with, at: a: little
‘idepth;: but notin equal quantity and good-
nefs's\ andvnot always eafy to be broken.
‘Whenstherefore a perfon: intended to build
‘a houfe,) he: enquired where the beft ftone
‘could be met ‘with iIt is to be found on
corn=fieldsand meadows, at a depth which
wa from two to fix feet. The pieces
were

188 ORD 1798.

were diffétent: ayto fize: “Some were cixht
or ten Feet long, two’ broad, and’ one’ thick!
Sotnetiite they were fill bigger, bul HEL
gay ely tHiich TEL. Siero Gy lay in’

ta one’ above ‘lanéther, the t icknefs’ of
ach’ ftratiny’ bein ig about” ‘a’ foot.”'> The
length and: mis ” were ‘different; ‘but’
commonly fach as T have before! mfentioned :
They thaf? combionly’ dig three ‘or four
feet” ‘before they Fedch” the? fitft “frat

prey is, thas Lb arash ‘ih ake ast t
which’ is’ UniverfaPhere, ‘and afi S id
and clay, ‘though ‘the ‘former i Orsdte! len-
tiful.° "He toofe’ ‘pieces of glimmer’ which
fhine! 16 Jiu’ in an feem to” ~ to

it~ | oe

that'cafndt always’ be ndoHe ae Lie

ing frequently rough on all fides, P. ny a

ly cut fmooth ‘with tools; finde. it i ate

and not. very difficult’ to” ‘be’ ‘broke

foes’ however aré “‘uilequal ae ini

and”: therefore: ‘by “p utting Shae pe ether

they cannot be ‘kept’ a ies 'as

bricks. It fometimes reli ip BehP yat

pieces ‘break off ‘when they” are “cut, , nd
eave:

ean o 4 the wie Alora were, aan
wer aa ey, were joined. with.mortar,

bene a the wall is. made {mooth, tn
€

Mortar | and. whitewathed. ;,
has. en obferved that, this kind. .
itone e attracts the, moifture in. a.rainy or wet
ca ae ydn Philadelp 4a, and, its), environs,
d. feyeral houfes. buile -of i Binge of

to Ca] nw

4 idee pale RS commonly. «Ae in

te

ey NB “4 Mrs Cock’ 5 fegroes Had scale me

thepfki of A badger. (Ur/us. Meles) which

> ki lled ; ra. few. days ago, and which. |

me'that, the... American. badger. is

ag with the Annes one. df, us here |
round Hog...

[ARDS night I ‘TpEUSNED. to. ‘Philadel

a ‘Oétober

190 - Oétober'1748.

\ OGfober the rath In “the: morning
went t0 the ‘river \SAuikilly partly to gather
feeds, partly to colleét plants for the herb-
aly and to make all forts of sobfervations:
The Skull isa narrow river,’ which falls
into ithe Delaware, about | four*miles from
Philadelphia to the fouths but narrow as.
is, it:rifes on thes weft fide ‘of thofe ©
mountains, commonly called the pr
tains; and’ runs two. hundred Engl fh miles,
and perhaps more. “' It isa great’ difadvan-
tage to this country, that there are >feveral
cataracts in this) river as’ low» ass Philade/s
phiay. for which reafon there ‘can be Woonas
vigation on it. To day» I» made ‘fome’de-
feriptions:and remarks on’ fuch plants as the
cattle liked, or fuch as they never touched.

‘I opserven feveral little fabterraneous’
walks ‘in the fields, running’ under ‘ground
in various directions): the: wiewen,: of which
was ‘big enough for a mole: the earth,
which formed as it: were a vault above it,
and lay elevated like a little bank,owas near
two inches high, fall ‘as: broad as.a man’s
hand; and about two inches thick. Ta un®
cultivated fields “I frequently: faw thefe
fubterraneous walks, whichdifcovered thems
felves\by the ground thrown up above them,
which when trod upon gave way, and made
it inconvenient ‘to walk in ‘the: field. Fe *
| ne

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 191

. Turse walks are inhabited-by a,kind)of
nole;* which I intend too deferibe more
accurately in another ‘work, »Theirfoodis
commonly roots: I have obferved: the: fol-
lities in one which was caught
It-had -greater ftiffnefs. and. ftrength inoits
legs; than I ever obferved in other. sanimals
in-proportion to ‘their. fize. | Whenever it
intended to dig, it held its legs. obliquely;
like oars,\. I ‘laid my. handkerchief: before
it, and it, began to ftir in it with: the f{nouts
and. taking away the handkerchief to fee
fpace. of -a minute, it» had) madeit. full. of »
holes; -atid it lookedias if it had been piere=
éediverysinuchyby an awl, I was:obliged to
put fome books on the cover of the box ia
which: T.kept-this animal, or elfeit was
flung, off immediately... It was very irafoi-
ble;; ‘and would «bite: igreat holes ianto:any
thing» that was\ put <in its: way; Toheldva
fteel pen-cafey to it, it at fit bit at it
with great violence, but, having - felt its
hardnefs, it would not venture again to bite
at-any Ithing, » Thefe moles do not make
—_ -asy the: European ones, but: vanllyp
he yas I have nies deferibed:»

mon swous au awords basovs | Odober
sheen DAR ewsy

R Tans oni wn fea eine criftatus of. Dr. ‘ama
sli

who, fays.it i i mole and lives in Pen/ylvania. F.
“ee BF J

-— Odtaber.1748.

ober the 13th. Ture isa planthere,
froen sine! berries of which they makea kind
of wax or tallow, and for that reafom the
Swedes call it the Tallow fhrub. ae
ghjb call the fame tree the Candleberry-tree
or Bayberry-bujfh; and ‘Dr. Linnaus oon
it the name of Myrica cerifera. » Itegrows
abundantly on a — foil, Penge <a
thrive particularly well in the neigh
hood of the fea, nor have I. ever. dean
high up in the country far from the fens
The berries grow abundantly onthe female
fhrub, and look as if flower shad) been
| ftrewed upon them. They are gathered
late in autumn, being ripe about that time,
and are then thrown into a kettle or pot
full of boiling water; by this»means their
fat melts out, floats at the top of the water
and may be fkimmed- off »into a veflel 5
with the {kimming they go ontill there is
no tallow left. ‘The tallow. as-foom as:it is
congealed, looks! like:cornmon» tallow
wax, but has a dirty green colours it inchibes
that reafon melted over again, and refined,
by which means it acquires a fine and pret-
ty tranfparent green colour: this tallow is
dearer than common tallow, but cheaper
than wax. In Philadelphia they pay a fhil-
ling Penfylvania currency, for a pound of
dite tallow ; but a pound of common —
only

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 193
came to half:that. money; and w
cots ‘reanuch agains: From this silnier they
make-candles in many ‘parts: of this :pro«
vines bot they: ufually mix fome:common
Veit... Candles -of »this kind, do
thedect! ‘nor melt in fummef. as
candles do; they burn better:and
flowers nor odo they caufe:any {moak; but
rather yield an-agreeable {mell, when they
bedheuaih pide’: An old: Swede of ninety=
one yearssof age told me, that this fort of
candles had-formerly been much in ufe with
peven-arveagyou emen. = At prefent;they:do —
ot mak« » denceged han dom of this kind, if
they camiget: the tallow of animals, it be~
ing too stroublefome to»gather. the berries,
However thefe: candles:areomade -ufe lofi by
poor p » who live in:the neighbourhood
ofa'place where the buthes.grow, and have
not cattle’ enough to kill; in order tofupply
them with a fufficient. uantity of tallow.
From: the waxrofi the» chih lichen tree they.
likewife nrake.a foap here; which has’ an a-
gteeable fcent,. and is the beft for thaving.
Dhis; wax is. likewife ufed by doctors:and
furgeonis; who reckon it exceeding. good
for) plafters: upon wounds... A. merchant of
this te waronce {ent a quantity of thefe can-
dies to.thofe dmerican:provinces. which had
oman : Catholic ii tPhobigaree: thinking he
Bas would

194 Odober 1748.

would be well paid, fince wax candles are
made ufe of in the Roman Catholick
churches; but the clergy would not take
them. An old Swede mentioned that the
root of the candleberry tree was formerly
made ufe of by the Indians, as a remedy
againft the tooth ach, and that he himfelf
having had the tooth ach very violently,
had cut the root in pieces and applied it
round his tooth; and that the pain had
been leffened by it. Another Swede affu-
red me that he had been cured of the
tooth ach, by applying the peel of the root
to it. In Carolina, they not only make

_/ eandles out of the wax of the berries, but
_/ S likewife fealing-wax.

. Odfober the 14th. Penny Royal is: a
plant which has a peculiar ftrong {cent,
and grows abundantly on dry places in the
eountry. Botanifts call it Cunsa pulegioides.
It is reckoned very wholefome to drink
as a tea when a perfon has got cold, as it
promotes perfpiration. 1 was likewife told,
that on feeling a pain in any limb, this
plant, if applied to it, would give imme-
diate relief.

Tue goods which are. deincaed to Lisle
from New England are the following: all
forts of fith caught near New/oundland and
elfewhere ; train-oil of feveral forts ; whale-
bone; tar, pitch, majits 5. new fhips, of which

a great

_

Piaesess

Penfludnia, Philadelphia. 295

agreatnumberis annually built ; a few hides,
and fometimes fome forts of wood. The
Englifh iflands in America, as “famaica and
Barbadoes, get from: New England, fiths
-fleth, butter, cheefe, tallow, horfes, cattle ;
all forts of lumber, fuch as pails, ‘buckets,
and*hogfheads; and have returns made in
rum, fugar, melaffes, and other produces
of the country, or in cafh, the greateft part
of all which they fend to London (the money
efpecially) in payment of the goods received
from thenee, and yet all this is infufficient
to pay off the debt. | id UO
Odtober the 15th. Tue <Aiders grew
here in confiderable abundance on wet and
low places, and even fometimes on pretty
high ones, but never reached the height of
the European alders, and commonly ftood
like a bufh about a fathom or two ‘high.
Mr. Bartram, and other gentlemen who
had frequently travelled in thefe provinces,
told me that the more you go to the fouth,
the lefs are the alders, but that they are
higher and taller, the more you advance to
the north. I found afterwards myfelf, that
the alders in fome places of Canada, are
little inferior to the Swedi/h ones. ‘Their
bark ys employed here in dying red and
brown. «A Swedi/h inhabitant of America,
told me that he had cut his leg to the very
Bone, and that fome coagulated blood had
‘sinled N 2 already

196 Ofober 1748.

already, been, fettled within. That he had
been advifed to boil the alder bark, and to
wath. the wound often with the water: that
he followed this advice, and had. foon ‘got
his. leg healed, though it had been very
dangerous at firit.

THE Phytolacca syel was called Poke
by the Exghjb. ‘The Swedes had.no parti-
cular name for it, but made ufe of the Ex-
ghfb, with fome little variation into Paok,
When, the juice of its berries is put upon
paper.or the like, it ftrikes it. with a high
purple. colour, which is,as fine as as any in
the world, and it is pity that no method is
as yet found out, of making this colour lait
en woollen and linen cloth, for. it fades
very foon. Mr. Bartram mentioned, thse
having hit his foot againft a ftone, he had
got.a violent pain in it; he then bethought
himfelf to put a leaf of the Phytolacca on
his foot, by which he loft the pain ina
fhort time, and got his foot well foon after.
The berries are, eaten by the birds about
this time. The Enghijb and feveral Swedes
make ufe of the leaves in {pring, when
they.are juft come out, | and are yet tender
and foft, and eat them partly as. green cale,
and partly in the manner we eat {pinnage.
Sometimes they likewife prepare them in
the firft of thefe ways, when the ftalks are
already grown a little longer, breaking off

none

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 197

none buttheupper {prouts which are yet ten-
der, andnot woody; but inthis latter cafe,
great care is to be taken, for if you eat the
plant when it is already grown up, and its
leaves are no longer foft, you may expec
death as a confequence which feldom fails
to follow, for the plant has then got a
power of purging the body to excefs. “I
have known people, who, by eating great
full grown leaves of this plant, have got
‘fuch a ftrong dyfentery, that they were near
dying with it: its berries however are eat-
en in autumn by children, without any ill
confequence. ‘atull
‘Wootten and linen cloth is dyed yel-.
low with the bark of hiccory. This Tike-
wife is done with the bark of the’ d/ack
| oak, or Linneus’s Quercus nigra, and that
variety of it which Cartefby in his Natural
History of Carolina, vol. i. tab. 19. calls
Quercus marilandica. ‘The flowers and leaves
of the Impatiens Noli tangere or balfamine,
likewife dyed all woollen ftuffs with a fin

yellow colour. —
_ Tue Collinfonia canadenfis was frequently
found in little woods and bufhes, in a good
rich foil. Mr. Bartram who knew the coun-
try perfectly well, was fure that Penfy/va-
nia, and all the parts of America in ‘the
fame climate, were the true and original
places where this plant grows. For further

N 3 to

198 Odtober 1748.

to the fouth, neither he nor Mefits. Clayton
and Mitchel ever found it, though the lat-
ter gentlemen have made accurate obferva-
tions in Virginia and part of Maryland.
And from his own) experience he knew,
that it did not grow in the northerly. parts,
I. have never found it more; than fifteen
min. north of forty-three deg. . The time
of the year when it comes up in Penfylvania,
is fo late, that its feed has but juft time
fufficient to ripen in, and it therefore feems _
unlikely, that it can fucceed further north.
Mr, Bartram was the firft who difcovered |
it;,and fent it over into Europe. Mr. Fu/-
feu. during his. ftay at London;:.and: Dr.
“Linnaus afterwards, called it Collin/onia, from
the celebrated Mr. Peter Gollinfon, a mer-
chant in London, and fellow of the Enghi/h
and Swedi/h Royal Societies. . He well de-
ferved the honour of having a plant. called
after his name, for there are few. people
that have promoted natural hiftory and all
ufeful {ciences with a zeal like his:; or that
have done as much as he towards collecting,
cultivating, and making known all forts of
plants. The Collinfonia has a peculiar {cent,
which is agreeable, but very ftrong. Ital-
ways gave me a pretty violent head-ach
whenever I pafled by a place where it ftood
in plenty, and efpecially when it was in
sree k | ) flower.

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 199

flower. Mr. Bartram was acquainted with a
better quality of this plant, which was that
of being an excellent remedy againft all forts
of pain in the limbs, and againftia cold,
when the parts affected are rubbed with:it.
And Mr. Conrad Weiffer, interpreter of the
language of the Indians in Pen/ylvania, had
told him of a more wonderful cure with
this plant. He was once among a2com-
pany of Indians, one of which had been
ftung by-a rattle fnake, the favages gave
him over, but he boiled ‘the collinfonia,
and made the poor wretch. drink the water,
from which he happily recovered. Some-
what more to the north and in New York
_ they call this plant Hor/eweed, becaufe the
horfes eat it in f{pring, before any other
plant comes up. pak, |

Odtober the 16th. I askep Mr. Frank-
kin and other gentlemen who were well ac-
quainted with this country, whether they
had met with any figns, from whence they
could have concluded that any place which
was now a part of the continent, had for-
merly been covered with water ? and I got
the following account in anfwer.

1. Qwotravelling from hence to. the
fouth, ‘you meet with a place where the
highroad:is very low in the ground between
‘two mountains... Oncboth fidesi:you fee
iat N 4 nothing

200 Odtober 1748.

nothing but oyfter:fhells and mufcle hells
in immenfe: quantities :above “each others:
however the. place is many: anes off the:
{eairsd ae
2. WHENEVER they. dig aiieds or build
honfes.in.town, they find the earth lying in:
feveral {trata above each other. ‘Ata depth’:
of fourteen feet.or more, they find: globular
ftones, which areas {mooth:on the-outfide:.
as’ thofe which lie on the fea-fhore, andare
made round and {mooth by the: rolling of:
the waves. And after having dug through
the fand, and reached, adepth ofieighteen
feet or more, they-difcover in :fome places’
a ilime like that. which. the fea»throwswup
on the:fhore,,.and.which commonly dies at.
its bottom and in rivers : this flimedssquite \
full.of trees, leaves, branches,| on — 2
coal,..&c. a |
»2:1 tr has: fometimes happened that'n new:
houfes have funk on one fideoim asfhort!y
time, and have obliged -the:-peoplerto pull’:
them .down again. On digging deeper, :for:
a very hard ground:to: build upon,o:they
have found a quantity of ae akose fimiey!
wood, roots, &c. j
Are not thefe reafons. intbicterst: to ‘ntaks:
one fuppofe that thofe places im Philadelphia
which are at prefent fourteen feetand«more
under egtqund waa were the bottom of
! the

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 201

the fea, and:that by feveral accidents, fand,
earth, and other things were carried upon:
it? *or,) thatthe \De/aware formerly: was
broader than it is at prefent? or, that it
has changed its courfe) This laft ftill of-
ten happens at prefent; the'river breaking
off the ‘bank om one fide, ‘and forming ‘one
on the other: » Both the Swedes and ee
oftenfhewed me fuch places. |
October the 18th..: AT prefent Ivdid not
find above ten different kinds: of plants in’
blofiom::; they were, aGentiana, two f{pex
cies of ifer; the common Golden Rod, or
Solidago Virga aurea, a {pecies of Hieracium,
theyellow wood Sorrel, or Oxalis corniculata,
the Fox Gloves, or Digitahs purpurea, the
Hamamelis Vi: irginiana, or Witch Hazel, our
common Millefoil, or Achillea Millefolum,
and our Dandelion, or Leontodon Taraxacum.
All-other plants had for this year laid afide
their'gay colours. Several trees, efpecially
thofe which were to flower early in f{pring,
had already formed fuch large buds, thation
opening them all the parts of fructification,
fuchias Calyx, Corolla, Stamina and Piftillum
were plainly diftinguifhable. It was therefore
eafy:to determine the genus to which fach
trees belonged. «Such were the red maple,
or Acer rubrum, and the Laurus e@ftivalis,
ce of bay... Thus nature prepared to
bring

202 Odtober 1748:

bring forth flowers, with the firft mild
weather'in the next year. The buds were
at prefent quite hard, and ‘all their parts
prefied clofe together, that the cold ——
by all means be excluded.

- Tue black Walnut trees had for the great
eft part dropt their leaves, and many of
them were entirely without them. The
walnuts themfelves were already fallen off.
The green’ peel which enclofed them, if
frequently handled, would yield a black
colour, which could not be got: off the
fingers in two or three weeks time, though
the hands were wafhed ever fo much,

Tue Cornus florida was called Dogwood
by the Exgh/h, and grew abundantly in the
woods. It looks beautiful when it is adorn-
ed with its numerous great white flowers in
{pring. The wood is very ‘hard, and is
therefore made ufe of for weaver’s f{pools,
joiner’s planes, wedges, &c. When the
cattle fall down in fpring for: want. of
firength, the people tie a branch of this
_ tree on their neck, thinking it will vals
them.

Oéfober the 19th. Tue T: ulip tree grows
every where in the woods of this country.
‘Phe botanifts call it Lirtodendron tulipifera,
becanfe its flowers both in refpeé to their
fe; and in refpect to their exterior ome
an

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 203

and even in fome meafure with regard to
their colour, refemble tulips. The Swedes
called it Cance tree, for both the Indians
and the Europeans often make their canoes
of the ftem of this tree. The Englij/bmen
in Penfylvania give it the name. of Poplar.
It is reckoned a tree which grows. to the
greateft height and thicknefs of any in
North America, and. which. vies in that
point with our greateft European trees. .The
white oak and the fir in North America,
however are little inferior to it. . It cannot
therefore but be® very agreeable to fee in
{pring, at the end of May (when it is in
bloffom) one of the. greateft trees covered
for a fortnight together with flowers, which
with regard to their fhape, fize, and partly
colour are like tulips, the leaves have like-
wife fomething peculiar, the Exgi/b there-
fore in fome places call the tree the old wo-
man's finock, becaufe.their imagination finds
fomething like it below the leaves.

. Its wood is here made ufe-of for canoes,
boards, planks, bowls, difhes, fpoons, door
pofts, and all forts of joiners work. Ihave
feen a barn of a confiderable fize whofe
walls, and,roof were made of a,fingle tree
of this kind, {plit, into boards. Some joiners
reckoned, this wood. better than. oak, be-
eaufe this latter frequently is warped, which
“U the
»

204 - Ofober 1748.

the other never does, but works very eafy 5 |
others again valued it very little. It is

certain, that it contraéts fo much in hot |
weather, as to occafton great cracks in
the boards, and in wet weather it {wells
foas to be near burfting, and the people :
hardly know of a wood in thefe parts which —
varies fo much in contracting and expand-
ing itfelf. The joiners however make much
ufe of itin their work, they fay there are

two {pecies of it; but they are merely two

varieties, one of which in time turns yellow
within, the other is white, the former is
faid to have a loofer texture. The bark
(like Rufia glafs) is divifible into very thin
leaves, which are very tough like baft,
though I have never feen it employed as -
fuch. The leaves when crufhed and ap-
plied to the forehead are faid to be. a reme-
dy againft the head ach. When horfes are
plagued with worms, the bark is ‘pounded,
and given them quite dry. Many ‘peaple
believe its roots to. be as efficacious againtt
the fever as the jefuits bark. The trees
grow in all forts of dry foil, both on high
and low grounds, but too wet a foil will not
agree with them.

Oétober the 2oth. Tue Beaver tree is
to be met with in feveral parts of Penfylva-
n1a and New ‘Ferfey, in a poor fwampy foil,

or
%

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 205

or on wet meadows. Dr. Linmneus calls it
Magnolia glauca; both the Swedes and En-
glib call it Beaver tree, becaufe the root of
this tree is the dainty of beavers, which are
caught by its means, however the Swedes
fometimes gave it a different name, and the
Englifb as improperly called it Swamp Saffa-
fras, and White Laurel., The trees of this
kind dropt their leaves early in autumn,
though fome of the young trees kept themall
the winter. I have feldom found the bea-
ver tree to the north of Pen/y/vania, where
it begins to flower about the end of May.
The {cent of its bloffoms is excellent, ie
by it you can difcover within three quarters
of an Engh/b mile, whether thefe little
trees ftand in the neighbourhood, provided
the wind be not againft it. For the whole
air is filled with this {weet and pleafant
fcent. It is beyond defcription agreeable
to travel in the woods about that time, ef-
pecially towards night. They retain their
flowers for three weeks and even longer,
according to the quality of the foil on
which the trees ftand; and during the
whole time of their being in blofflom, they
fpread their odoriferous exhalations. The
berries likewife look very fine when they
are ripe, for they have a rich red colour,
and hang in bunches on flender ftalks. The

ne : | cough,

206 OGober 1748.

cough, and other pectoral difeafes are cured
by putting the berries into rum or brandy,
of which a draught every morning may be
taken; the virtues of this remedy were uni-
verfally extolled, and even praifed for their
falutary effects in confumptions. The bark
being put into brandy, or boiled in any
other liquor, is faid not only to eafe pec-
toral difeafes, but likewife to be of fome
fervice again{t all internal pains: and heat;
and it was thought that a decoétion of
it could ftop the dyfentery. © Perfons who
had caught cold, boiled the branches of
the beaver tree in water, and drank ‘it to
their great relief. A Swede, called Lars
Lack, gave the following account of a cure
effected by this tree: One of his relations,
an old man, had an open fore inhis leg,
which would not heal up again, though he
had had much advice and ufed many reme-
dies. An Indian at laft effeted the cure in
the following manner. ‘He burnt fome of
this wood to charcoal, which he reduced to
powder, mixed with the frefh fatiof pork,
and rubbed the open places feveral times.
This dried up the holes, which before were
continually open, and the legs of the old
man were quite found to his death. * The
wood: is likewife made ufe a for joiner’s
iat

October

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 207:

- Oétober the 22d. Upon trial it has been
found that the-following animals and birds,
which are wild in the woods of North Ame-
rica, can be made nearly: as tractable as
domeftic animals.

Tur wild Cows and Oxen, of orliigh fevers
people of diftinction have got young calves
_ from thefe wild cows, which are to be met
with in Carolina, and other provinces to the
fouth of Penfylvama, and brought them up
among the tame cattle; when grown up;
they were perfeGly tame, but at the fame
time very unruly, fo that, there was no en-
clofure'ftrong enough to refift them, if they
had a mind to break through if; for as they
poffefs a great firength in their neck, it was
eafy for them to overthrow the pales with
their horns, and to get into the corn-fields 5
and as. foon as they had made a road, all
the tame cattle followed them ; they like-
wife copulated with the latter, and by that
means generated as it were a new breed,
This American es of oxen is Linnus’s
Bos Bijan, 8 | |

-»AMERICAN ies can. likewrfe -be
tamed; and I have feen them tame myfelf
in different places. A farmer in New Ser/ey
had ongian his poffeffion, which he had
caught when it was very young; andvat
prefent it was fo tame, that in the day time it
Wks run

208 \ Otober 1748.

run into the wood for its food, and towards
night’ it returned home, and frequently
brought a wild deer out of the wood, giv-
ing its mafter an opportunity to fhoot it.
Several people have therefore tamed’ young
deer, and make ufe of them for hunting
wild deer, or for decoying them’ Sone;
efpecially in the time of their ratting:
Beavers have been fo tamed that they
have gone on fifhing, and brought” chor
what they had caught to their? matters.
This often is the cafe with O¢ters, of which
I have feen fome, which wereas tame as
dogs, and followed their mafters wherever
they went; if he went out in a boat, the
otter went with him, jumped into’ the:
water, and after a while came: up’ with a
fifh. The Opfoffum, can’ likewife be’ tam-
ed, fo-as to follow people like’a dogy > >.
Tue Raccoon’ which we’ / Seeéedesip call
. Siupp,.can in time’ be made fo'tame as to
run about the ftreets like a domeftic animal ;
but it is impoffible'to make it leave off its
habit of ftealing. In the dark it’ ‘creeps to
the-poultry, and kills in onenight a*whole
ftock.: Sugar and other fweet things muft
be carefully hidden from it, forif the chefts
and boxes are not always locked up, it gets
into them, eats the fugar, ‘and licks up the
treacle with its paws: the ladies —
ave

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 209

have every; day fome complaint again it,
aiid for.this.reafon many people rather for-
bear the-diverfion which.this. tel -like ant-
mal affords.

Tue grey and Spins ‘Squirrels até fo tamed
by the boys, that they fit on their. fhoul-
ders, ‘and-follow them every where.

Tue Lurkey Cocks and Hens run about in
the woods. of this-c¢ountry, and differ in
nothing from our tame ones, except -in
their fuperior fize, and redder, though more
palatable flefh. When. their! eggs are. found
in the. wood, and put-under. tame Turkey
hens, the young ones become tame; how-
ever when they grow up, it fometimes
happens that they fly away; their wings
are therefore commonly clipped, ¢efpecially
when.young... But the tamed turkeys are
commionly much more irafcible, than thofe
which. are’ naturally tame. The Indians
likewife employ themfelves in taming them
and keeping them near their huts.

Witp-Geefe-have likewife been tamed in
the: following manner. When the -wild
pee eefe firft come hither in fpring, and ftop a

ttle while.(for they do not breed in Pen
Sykoania) ‘the. péople try to fhooct them in
the wing, which however is generally mere
Cita rips are then row to the placé- where
9 @ giothé

~
~ w

° i

210 October 1748.

\

the wild goofe fell, catch it, and keep it
for fome time at home, by this means many
of them have been made fo tame, that when
they were let out in the morning, they re-
turned in the evening, but to be more fure
of them, their wings are commonly clipped.
I have feen wild geefe of this kind, which
the owner affured me, that he had kept for

more than twelve years; but though . he .

kept eight of them, yet he never had the
pleafure to fee them copulate with pees
ones, or lay eggs.

PARTRIDGES, which are "haps in abun-
dance, may likewife be fo far. tamed, as to
run about all day with the pouletr ys and to
come along.with them to be fed when they
are called. In the fame manner I have
feen wild Pigeons,» which were ,.made_ fo
tame as to fly out and return again. In
fome winters there are immenfe quantities
of wild pigeons in Penfylvania. |

Oéfober the 24th. Or all the rare. birds
of North America, the Humming bird is the
moft admirable, or at leaft moft worthy of
peculiar attention... Several reafons induce
me to, believe that few. parts of the world
can ‘produce its equal. Dr., Laneus calls

it Trochilus Colubris. The Swedes and {ome
Englifbmen call it. the. King’ s bird, but the |

name of Humming bird is more~common.
Catefby

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 211

Gately. in his Natural Hiftory of Carolina,
Vol. 1. page 65, tab. 65. has drawn it, in
‘its me, fize, with its proper colours,
and. added a defcription of u.*1, In fize it
is not much bigger than a large humble
bee, and i is therefore the leaft of all birds,
or it is much, if there is a leffer {pecies in
the world.’ Its plumage is moft beautifully
coloured, moft of its feathers being green,
fome grey, and others forming a fhining
‘red ting ‘round its neck; the tail glows
with fine feathers, changife from green
into a brafs.colour. Thefe birds come
here in {pring about the time when it be-
gins to grow very warm, and make their
nefts in fummer, but towards autumn they
retreat again into the more fouthern coun-
tries of America. They fubfift barely upon
the nectar, or fweet juice of flowers contained.
in that part, which botanifts call the nec-
tarium, and which they fuck up with their
long bills. Of all the flowers, they like
thofe moft, which have a long tube, and

O 2 have

* Tue fame is to be met with in Edwards’s Natural Hif-
tory of Birds, page 38. tab, 38. F.

+ ‘THER is a much leffer {pecies of humming-bird, by
Linnaeus called Trochilus minimus, being the leaft bird known ; ;
Sir Hans Sloane’s living one, weighed only twenty grains,
and Mr. Edwards’s dry one forty-five. It is drawn in Ed-
wards’s birds, t. 150, in its natural fize, together with its
ego. F.

212 Ober 1748.

have obferved that they have fluttered chiefs
ly about the Impatiens Noli tangere, and. the
Mondrda with crimfon flowers., An inha-
bitant of the country is fure to have anum-
ber of thefe beautiful and agreeable little
birds before his window all, the fummer
long, if he takes care to plant a bed with ©
all forts of fine flowers under them. | It is
indéed a diverting {pectacle to fee thefe lit-
tle active creatures flying about the flowers
like bees, and fucking. their- juices. with
their long and narrow bills. ‘The flowers
of the above-mentioned Monarda grow ver+
ticillated, that is, at different diftances they
furround the ftalk, as the flowers of out
mint (Mentha) baftard hemp, (Galeopfis )
mother-wort (Leonurus) and dead nettle
{Lanium). \t is therefore diverting to fee
them putting their bills into every flower
in the circle. As foon as they have fucked
- the juice of one flower, they flutter to the
hext. One that has not feen them would
hardly believe in how fhort a {pace of time
they have had their tongues in all the flow-
ers of a plant, which when large and with
along tube, the little bird by. putting its
head into them, looks as if it crept with

ot its body into them.
'Durine their fucking the juice out of
the flowers they never fettle on. it, but
flutter

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 213

flutter continually like bees, bend their
feet backwards, and move. their wings fo
guick, that they are hardly vifible. During
this fluttering they make a humming like
bees, or like that which is occafioned by
the turning of a little wheel. After they
have thus, without refting, fluttered for a
while, they fly to a neighbouring tree or
poft, and refume their vigour again. They
then return to their humming and fucking.
They are not very thy, and I in company
with feveral other people, have not been
full two yards from the place where they
fluttered about and fucked the flowers ;. and
though we fpoke and movéd, yet they were
no ways difturbed; but on going towards
them, they would fly off with the fwiftnefs
of an arrow.. When feveral of them were
on the fame bed, there was always a vio-
lent combat between them, in meeting
each other at the fame flower (for envy was
likewife predominant amongft thefe little
creatures) and they attacked with fuch im-
petuofity, that it would feem as if the
ftrongeft would pierce its antagonift through
and through, with its long bill. During
the fight, they feem to ftand in the air,
keeping themfelves up, by the incredibly
fwift motion of their wings. When the
windows towards the garden are open, they

O 3 purfue

Q14 October 1748.

purfue each other into the rooms,’ fight a
little, and flutter away again. Sometimes
they come to a flower which is withering,
and: has no more juice in it ;’ they thenin a
fit of anger pluck it off, and throw it on
the ground, that it may not miflead them
for the future. If a garden contains a great
number of thefe little birds, they are feen ©
to pluck off the flowers in fuch quantities,
that the ground is quite covered with them,
and it feems as if this praccrsind from. a
motion of envy.

CoMMONLY you hear no ‘thee fouliid
than: their humming, but when they fly
againft each other in’ the air, they make a
chirping noife like a {parrow or chicken. I
have fometimes walked with feveral .other
people in fimall gardens, and. thefe birds -
have on all fides fluttered about us, with-
out appearing very fhy. They are to {mall
that one would eafily miftake them for great
humming-bees or butterflies, and their flight
refembles that of the former, and. is incre-
dibly fwift. They have never been ob-
ferved to feed on infects or fruit; the nec-
tar of flowers, feems therefore to be their
only food. Several people have caught fome
humming birds‘on account of their fingular
beauty, and have put them into cages,
where they died for want of a proper food.

However

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 215

However Mr. Bartram has kept a couple of
them for feveral weeks together, by feed-
ing them with water ‘in’ which’ fugar had _
been diflolved, and I am of opinion that it
would not be difficult to keep them . win-

ter in a hot-houfe. ©
“Tue humming bird always builds its be
in the middle of a branch of a tree, and it
is fo final, that it cannot be feen from the
ground, but ‘he ‘who intends to fee it muft
get. up to’ the branch. For this reafon it
is looked upon as a great rarity if a nett is
accidentally found,’ efpecially as the trees in
fammier have fo thick a foliage. The neft is
likewife the leaft ofall; that which is in
my poffeffion is quite round, and confifts in
the infide of a brownith and quite foft down,
which’ feeéms to have béen collected from
the leaves of the great mullein or Verbafeum
T; hapfus, ‘which are often found covered
with a foft wool of this colour, and the plant
is plentifal here. The outfide of the net
has a’ coating of green mofs, fuch as is com-
mon’on old pales or enclofures and on trees;
the inner diameter of the neft is hardly a
‘geometrical inch at the top, and its depth
half ‘an inch. It is however known that the
humming birds make. their nefts likewife
of flax, hemp, mofs, hair and other fuch foft
O4 materials ;

216 | Oober 1748.

materials ; they are faid to lay ve Sas
each of the fize of a pea.

Odiober the 25th. I employed. this. day
and the next in packing up all the feeds
gathered this autumn, for I had an opper-
tunity of fending them to England by the
fhips which failed about this time, From
England they were forwarded to Scoedens

Ogfober the 27th, In the morning f fet
out on a little journey to New York; in com-
pany with Mr. Peter Cock, with a-view
to fee the country, and to enquire, intg
the fafeft road, which I could take in
going to Canada, through the defart or un+
inhabited country between it and theRingift
provinces.

THar part where we travelled at prdfent
was pretty well inhabited on both fides of
the road, by Englifbmen, Germans and other
Europeans. Plains and hills of different di-
menfions were feen alternately, mountains
and ftones, I never faw, excepting afew
pebbles. Near almoft every farm was a
great orchard with peach and apple trees,
fome of which were yet loaded with fruit.

Tue enclofures were in fome parts low

énough, for the cattle to leap over them
with eafe sto prevent this the hogs» had a
triangular wooden yoke: this cuftom was
ad if BAYS already ‘obferved, common over

| all

Penfylvania, New F rankfurt. 217

all the Enghjb plantations. ..To the horfes
neck was faftened a piece of wood, which
at the lower end had a tooth or hook, fatt-
ening in the enclofure, and ftopping the
horfe, juft when it lifted its fore feet-to leap
over; but I know not whether this be a
good invention with regard to horfes.., They
were likewife kept in bounds by a piece of
wood, one end of which, was faftened to
one of the fore feet, .and the other.to one
ofthe hind feet, and it forced them to walk
pretty flowly, .as at the fame. time it made _
it impofiible for them to leap over.the en-
clofures. To me it appeared.that the horfes
were fubje& to all forts. of dangerous acci-+
dents from this piece of wood. |

> Near. New Frankfurt, we rode over a
little ftone. bridge, and fomewhat further,
eight or, nine Engh/bh miles from Phiadel-
phia we pafied over another, which .was
likewife of ftone.,. There. are not yet any
mileftones, put.up in the country, and the
inhabitants only compute the diftances ‘by
guefs. -\We were afterwards brought over
a rivet in a ferry, where we paid three-
pence aperfon, for ourfelves and our horfes,
_ AT one. of the places where we ftopt,te
have our horfes fed, the people-had.a
Mocking-bird\ in a cage; and itis here
yeckonedithe beft finging bird, though its

plumage

a8 OoBer “1748.

plumage be very fimple, and not fhowy at
all. At this time of the year it does not
fing. ‘ Linneus calls it Turdus polyglottos,
and Cate/by in his Natural Hiftory of Caro-
lina, Vol. 1. p. 27. tab. 27, has likewife
defcribed and drawn this bird. ‘The ‘peo-
ple faidthat it built its nefts in the buthes
and trees, but is fo fhy, that if any body
come and look at its eggs, it leaves the
neft, ‘never to come to it again. Its. young
ones require great care in: being bred up.
If they are taken from their mother and
put into a cage, fhe feeds them for three or
four days; but feeing no hopes ‘of fetting
them at liberty, fhe flies away. It then
often happens, that the young ones die
foon after, doubtlefs becaufe they cannot
accuftom themfelves to eat what the people
give them. But it is generally imagined,
that the laft time the mother feeds them,
fhe finds means to poifon them, in order,
the fooner to deliver them from’ flavery
and wretchednefs. Thefe birds ftay all
fummer in the colonies, but ‘retire in
autumn to the fouth, and: ftay away’ all
winter. They have got the name of Mock-
ing-birds, on account of their fkill in imi-
tating the note of almoft every bird ‘they
hear. The fong peculiar to them is 'excel-
lent, and varied -by an infinite change of

notes

Penfylvania, New Briftol. 219

notes and melody ; feveral people are there-
fore of opinion, that they are the beft fing-
ing birds in the world. - So much is certain,
that few birds come up to them; this is
what makes them precious: the Swedes
call it by the fame name as the Enghjb.

ABoUT noon we came to New Briffol, a
{mall town in Penfylvania, on the banks of
the Delaware, about fifteen Engh/b from
Philadelphia. Moft of the houfes are built
of ftone, and ftand afunder. The inhabi-
tants carry on.a fmall trade, though moft
of them get their goods from Philadelphia.
‘On the other fide of the river, almoft di-
rectly oppofite to New Brifiol, lies the town
of Burlington, in which the governor of
New Ferfey refides.

_ We had now country feats on both re vi

of the roads. Now we came into a lane
enclofed with pales on both fides, including
pretty great corn-fields. |Next followed a
wood, and we perceived for the {pace of four
Englifh miles nothing but woods, and a very
poor foil, on which the Lupinus perennis
grew plentifully and fucceeded well. I was
overjoyed to fee a plant come on fo well-in
thefe poor dry places, and even began to
meditate, how to improve this difcovery in
a foil like that which it inhabited. ButI
afterwards had the mortification to find that
sy the

220 Odteber 1748.

the horfes and cows eat almoft all the other
plants, but left the. lupine, which was
however very green, looked very freth, and
was extremely foft to the touch. Perhaps
means may be found out of making this
plant palatable to the cattle. In the even-
ing we arrived at Trenton, after having pre-

vioufly pafled the Delaware in a ferry. _
Oélober the 28th, TRENTON is a long
narrow town, fituate at fome diftance from
the river Delaware, on a fandy plain; it
belongs to New ‘ferfey, and they reckon it
thirty miles from PdAzladelpbia. It has two
fmall churches, one for the people be-
longing to the church of England, the
other for the prefbyterians. The houfes are
partly built of ftone, though moft of them
are. made of wood or planks, commonly
two ftories high, together with a cellar be-
low the building, and a kitchen under
ground, clofe to the cellar. ‘The houfes
{tand at a moderate diftance from one ano-
ther. They are commonly built fo, that
the {treet pafles along one fide of the houf-
es, while gardens of different dimenfions
bound the other fide; in each garden is a
draw-well; the place is reckoned very heal-
thy. Our landlord told us, that twenty-two
years ago, when he firit fettled here, there was
hardly more than one houfe ; but from that
timé

New Ferfey, Trenton. 22%

tine Trenton has encreafed fo much, that
there are at prefent near a hundred howfes.
The honfes were within divided into feveral
rooms by their partitions of boards. The
inhabitants of the place carried on a fmall
trade with the goods which they got from
Philadelphia, but their chief gain confifted
in the arrival of the numerous travellers
Between that city and New York; for they
are commonly brought by the Trenton
Yachts from Philadelphia to Trenton, ot
from thence to Philadelphia. But from
Trenton further to New Brunfwick, the tra-
vellers go in the waggons which fet out
évery day for that place. Several of the in-
habitants however likewife fubfift on the
earriage for all forts of goods, which are
every day fent in great quantities, either
from. Philadelphia to New York, or from
thence to the former place; for betweénh
Philadelphia ‘and Trenton all goods go by
water, but between Trenton and New Brun/-
qick they ate all carried by land, and both
thefe conveniences belong to people of this
fown. | | i

For the yachts which go between this
place and the capital of Pen/fylvania, they
ufually pay a fhilling and fix-pence of Pen-
Sylvania currency per fae and every one
_pays belides for his baggage. Every paf-

; fenger

222 _. Offober 1748.

fenger muft provide meat and drink for
himfelf, or pay fome fettled fare: between
Trenton and New Brunfwick a perfon pays
two fhillings and fixpence, and the >aggage
is likewife paid for feparately. |
WE continued our journey in the morn-
ing ; the country through which: we paffed
was for the greatett part level, though
fometimes there were fome long hills, fome
parts were covered with trees, but far the
greater part of the country was without
woods ; on the other hand I never faw any
place in America, the towns excepted, fo
well peopled. An old man, who lived in
this neighbourhood and accompanied us for
fome part of the road; however affured me,
that he could well remember the time, |
when between Trenton and New Brunfwick
there were not above three farms, and he
reckoned it was about fifty and fome odd
years ago. During the greater part of the
day we had very extenfive corn-fields on both
fides of the road, and commonly towards
the fouth the country had a great declivity.
Near almoft every farm was a {pacious or-
chard full of peaches and apple trees, and
in fome of them the fruit was. fallen from
the trees in fuch quantities, as to cover near-
ly the whole furface. Part of it they left
to rot, fince they could not take it all in
and

New Ferfey, Trenton. 223

and confume it. Wherever we pafied by
we were always welcome, to go into the
fine orchards, and gather our hats and pock-
ets full of the choiceft fruit, without the
poffeffor’s s fo much as looking after it.

Cherry trees were planted near the farms,
on the roads, é&c. ,
i THE barns* hada peculiar kind of con-
firuGtion hereabouts, which I will give a
concife defcription of. The whole build-
ing was very great, fo as almoft to equal.a
fmall church; the roof was pretty high,
covered with wooden {fhingles, declining
on both fides, but not fteep : the walls
which {upport it, were not much. higher
than a full grown man; but on the other
hand the breadth of the building was the
more confiderable : in the middle was the
threfhing floor, and aboveit, or in the loft
or garret they put the corn which was not
yet threfhed, the ftraw, or any thing elfe,
according to the feafon : on one fide were
{tables for the horfes, and on the other for
the cows. And the fmall cattle had like-
wife their particular ftables or ftyes; on
both ends of the buildings were great gates,

y fo

* THE author feems to comprehend more by ke word,
than what it commonly includes, for he defcribes it as a
building, which contains both aban and fables. F. . i

224. October 1748.

fo that one could come in with a cart and
horfes through one of them, and go out at
the other: here was therefore undet one
roof the threfhing floor, the barn, the fta-
bles, the hay loft, the coach houfe, é&c.
This kind of buildings is chiefly made ufe
of by the Dutch and Germans; for it is to
be obferved that the country between Tren-
ton and New York, is inhabited by few
Enghfhmen, but inftead of them by Germans
or Dutch,* the latter of which efpecially
are numerous.

Berore I proceed, I find it néceflary to
remark one thing with regard to the Indi-
ans, or old Americans. For this account
may perhaps meet with readers, who, like
many people of my acquaintance, may be
of opinion that all North America, was al-
moft wholly inhabited by favage or heathen
nations, and they may be aftonifhed, that I
do not mention them more frequently in
my account. Others may perhaps imagine,
that when I mention in my journal, that
the country is much cultivated, that in fe-
veral places, houfes of ftone or wood aré
built, round which-are corn-fields, gardens,

and

* Tus kind of building is frequent i in the Aovth of Ger
inainy, Holland, and Pruffia, and therefore it is no wonder
that it is employed by people who, were ufed to fhenrin their
own country. F.

New Ferfey, Trenton. 225

and orchards, that I am fpeaking of the
property of the Indians ; to undeceive them,
T here give the following explication. The
‘country efpecially all along the coafts, in
the Ezghjb colonies, is inhabited by Euro-
peans, who in fome places are already fo
numerous, that few parts of Europe are
more populous. The Indians have fold the
country to the Europeans, and have retired
further up: in moft parts you may travel
twenty Swedi/h miles, or about a hundred
and twenty Engli/h miles, from the fea
fhore, before you reach the firft habitations
of th Indians. And it is very poflible for
a perfon to have been at Philadelphia and
other towns on the fea fhore for half a year
together, without fo much as feeing an In-
dian. \ intend in the fequel to give a more
circumftantial account of them, their reli-
gion, manners, oeconomy, and other par-
ticulars relating to them: at prefent I re-

turn to the fequel of my journal. ~
AxsouT nine Englifh miles from Trenton,
the ground began to change its colour ;
hitherto it confifted of a confiderable quan-
tity of -hazel coloured clay, but at prefent
the earth was a reddifh brown, fo that it
fometimes had a purple colour, and fome-
times looked like logwood. This colour
came from a red limeftone which approach-
r ed

te a ee

&

226 _ Odtober 1748.

ed very near to that whichis on the moun-
tain Kznnekulle in Weft Gothland, and makes
a particular. ftratum in the rock. The
American red limeftome therefore feems to
be merely a variety of that Ifaw in Sweden,
it lay in {trata of two or three fingers thick-
nefs; but was divifible into many thinner
plates or fhivers, whofe furface was feldom
flat and {mooth, but commonly rough: the
{trata themfelves were frequently cut off by
horizontal cracks. When thefe {tones were
expofed to the air, they by degrees fhivered
and withered into pieces, and at laft turn-
edinto duft. The people of this neighhour-
hood did not know how to make any ufe
of it; the foil above is fometimes rich and
fometimes poor: in fuch places where the
people had lately dug new wells, I perceiv-
ed, that moft of the rubbifh which was
thrown. up confifted of fuch a fpecies of
{tone. This reddifh brown earth we always
faw till near New Brunfwick, where it is
particularly plentiful. The banks of the
river, fhewed in many places nothing but
ftrata of Limeffone, which did not run ho-
rizontally, but dipped very much. :
AxsoutT ten o'clock in the morning we
came to Prince-town, which is fituated in
a plain. Moft of the houfes are built of
wood, and are not contiguous, fo that there
, are

New ferfey, Prince-town. 247

are gardens and paftures between them. As
thefe parts were fooner inhabited by Euro-
peans than Penfylvania, the woods were
likewife more cut away, and the country
more cultivated, fo that one might have
imagined himfelf to be in Europe.

WE now thought of continuing our jour~
ney, but as it began to rain very heavily, and
continued fo during the whole day and part
of the night, we were forced to fay till
next morning.

Odfeber the 29th. THis morning we
proceeded on our journey. The country
was pretty well peopled; however there
were yet great woods in many places: they
all confifted of deciduous trees: and I did
not perceive a fingle tree of the fir kind,
till I came to New Brun/wick. The ground
was level, and did not feem to be every
where of the richeft kind. In fome places
it had hillocks, lofing themfelves almoft
imperceptibly in the plains, which were
commonly crofied by a rivulet. Almoft
near every farm-houfe were great orchards.
The houfes were commonly built of timber,
and at fome diftance by themfelves ftood
the ovens for baking, confifting commonly
of clay.

_ Ow a hill covered with trees, and called
Rockhill, ¥_ faw feveral pieces of ftone or
Pez rock,

228 Odfober 1748.

rock, fo big, that they would have requi-
red three men to roll them down. But
befides thefe there were few great ftones in
the country; for moft of thofe which we
faw, could eafily be lifted up by a fingle
man. In another place we perceived a
number of little round pebbles, but we id

not meet with either mountains or rocks. |
ABOUT noon we arrived at New Bran
fwick, a pretty little town in the province
of New ‘Ferfey, in a valley on the weft fide
of the river Rareton; on account of its low
fituation, it cannot be feen (coming from
Penfylvania) before you get to the top of the
hill, which is quite clofe up to it: the
town extends north and fouth along the
tiver. The German inhabitants have two
churches one of ftone and the other of
wood. The Exgh/hb church is likewile of the
latter kind, but the prefbyterians were build-
ing one of ftone: the town houfe makes
dikewife a pretty good appearance. Some of
the other houfes are built of bricks, but
moft of them are made either wholly of
wood, or of bricks and wood; the wooden
houfes are not made of ftrong timber, but
merely of boards or planks, which are
within joined by laths: fuch houfes as
confift of both wood and bricks, have only
the wall towards the ftreet of bricks, all the
other fides being merely of planks. This
peculiar

New “ferfey, New Brunfwick. 229

peculiar kind of oftentation would eafily
lead a traveller, who paffes through the
town in hafte, to believe that moft of the
houfes are built of bricks. The houfes
were covered with fhingles; before each
door there was an elevation, to which
you afcend by fome fteps from the {treet ;
it refembled a {mall balcony, and had fome
benches on both fides, on which the people
fat in the evening, in order to enjoy the
frefh air, and to have the pleafure of view-
ing thofe who pafled by. The town has
only one ftreet lengthways, and at its nor-

thern extremity there is a ftreet acrofs;

both of thefe are of a confiderable length.
Tue river Rareton paffes hard by the
town, and is deep enough for great yachts
to come up; its breadth near the town is
within the reach of a common gun fhot;
the tide comes up feveral miles beyond the
town, the yachts. were placed lengthways
along the bridge; the river has very high
and pretty fteep banks on both fides, but
near the town there are no fuch banks, it
being fituated in a low valley. One of the
fireets i is almoft entirely inhabited by Dutch-
‘men, who came hither from Albany, and
for that reafon they call it Albany ftreet.
Thefe Dutch people only keep company
among themfelves, and feldom or never go a-
mongft the other inhabitants, living asit were
eo eS quite

2.30 October 1 748.

quite feparate from them. New Brunfwick
belongs to New ‘Fer/ey; however the greateft
part, or rather all its trade is to New York,
which is about forty Englifh miles diftant 5
to that place they fend corn, flour in
great quantities, bread, feveral other ne-
ceffaries, a great quantity of linfeed, boards
timber, wooden veffels, and all forts of
carpenters work. Several {mall yachts are.
- every day going backwards and forwards
between thefe two towns. The inhabitants
likewife get a confiderable profit from the
travellers, who every hour pafs through,
on the high road.

THE feep banks confift of the red lime-
ftone, which I have before defcribed. It
is here plainly vifible that the ftrata are not
horizontal, but confiderably dipping, e pe
cially towards the fouth. The weather
and the air has in a great meafure diflolved
the ftone here: I enquired, whether it
could not be made ufe of, but was affured,
that in building houfes it was entirely ufe-
lefs; for, though it is hard and peftma-
nent under ground, yet on being dug out,

and expofed for fome time to the aif, it -

firft crumbles into greater, then into le
pieces, and at laft is converted into duit"
An inhabitant of this town, however tried
to build a houfe with this fort of ftone, but
its

New ‘ferfey, New Brunfwick. 23%

its outfides being expofed to the air, foon
began to change fo much, that the owner
was obliged to put boards all over the wall,
to preferve it from falling to pieces. The

. people however pretend that this ftone

is a very good manure, if it is {catter-
ed upon the corn-fields in its rubbifh ftate,
for it is faid to ftifle the weeds : it is there-
fore made ufe of both on the fields and in
gardens.*

TowArDs the evening we continued our
journey, and were ferried over the river
Rareton, together with our horfes. In a

very dry fummer, and when the tide has

ebbed, it is by no means dangerous to ride
through this river. On the oppofite fhore
the red juniper tree was pretty abundant.
The country through which we now pafi-
ed was pretty well inhabited, but in moft
places full of {mall pebbles. HOt

We faw Guinea Hens in many places
where we pafled by. They fometimes run
about the fields, at a good diftance from the
farm-houfes.

' AsouT eight Englith miles from New
Brunfwick, the road divided. We took
that on the left, for that on the right leads

P 4 to

:™ PROBABLY it is a ftone marle; a blue and reddifh {pe-
cies of this kind is ufed with good fuccefs, in the county of

Bamff in Scotland.

232 Ogtober 1748,

to Amboy, the chief fea-town in New Fer-
Jey... The country now made a charming
appearance ; fome parts being high, others
forming vallies, and all of them well culti-
vated. From the hills you had a profpec&
of houfes, farms, gardens, corn-fields, fo-
tefts, lakes, iflands, roads, and paftures.
In moft of the places where we travelled
this day the colour of the ground was
reddifh. I make no doubt, but. there
were ftrata of the before-mentioned red

limeftone under it. Sometimes the ground

tooked very like a cinnabar ore. |
Woop-BRIDGE is a {mall village in a
plain, confifting of a few houfes: we ftop-
ped here to reft our horfes a little. The
houfes were moft of them built of boards ;
the walls had a covering of fhingles on the
outfide ; thefe fhingles were round at one
end, and all of a length in each row: fome
of the houfes had an Italian roof, but the
greateft part had roofs with pediments ;
moft of them were covered with fhingles. In
moft places we met with wells and buckets
to draw up the water. ma
ELIZABETH-TOWN Is a {mall town, about
twenty. Englifh miles diftant from New
Brunfwick: we arrived there immediately
after fun fetting. Its houfes are moft

{cattered, but well built, and generally.

of

New Ferfey, Elizabeth-town. 233

of boards, with a roof of fhingles, and
walls covered with the fame. ‘There were
likewife fome ftone buildings. A little ri-
vulet paffes through the town from weft to
eait; it is almoft reduced to nothing when
the water ebbs away, but with the full tide
they can bring up fmall yachts. Here
were two fine churches, each of which
made a much better appearance than any
one in Philadelphia. ‘That belonging to the
people of the church of England was built
of bricks, had a fteeple with bells, and
a baluftrade round it, from which there was
a profpect of the country. The meeting
houfe of the prefbyterians was built of
wood, but had both a fteeple and bells,
and was, like the other houfes covered with
fhingles. The town houfe made likewife a
good appearance, and had a fpire with a
bell. The banks of the river were red,
from the reddifh limeftone; both in and
about the town were many gardens and
orchards, and it might truly be faid that
Elizabeth-town was fituated in a garden;
the ground hereabouts being even and well
cultivated. |

Tue geefe, in fome of the places by
which we paffed this day and the next,
carried three or four little fticks, of the
length of a foot about their necks; they
i were

234 Osober 1 748.

were faftened croffways, to prevent them
from creeping through half broken enclo-
fures. They look extremely awkward, and
it is very diverting to fee them in this
attire. |

Ar night we took up our lodgings at
Elizabeth-town Point, an inn about two
Engh/b miles diftant from the town, and
the laft houfe on this road belonging to
New ‘ferfey. ‘The man who had taken the
leafe of it, together with that of the ferry
near it, told us that he paid a hundred
and ten pounds of Pen/ylvania CuRteaCY to
the owner.

Odtober the 30th. WE were ready to
proceed on our journey at fun-rifing. Near
the inn where we had paffed the night, we
were to crofs a river, and we were brought
over, together with our horfes, in a wretch-
ed half rotten ferry. This river came a
confiderable way out of the country, and
-fmall veffels could eafily fail up it. This
was a great advantage to the inhabitants of
the neighbouring country, giving them an
opportunity of fending their goods to New
York with great eafe; and they even made
ufe of it for trading to the Weft Indies. The
country was low on both fides of the river,
and confifted of meadows. But there was
no other hay to be got, than fuch as com-

monly

New York, Staten Ifland. 235

monly grows in fwampy grounds ; for as
the tide comes up in this river, thefe low
plains were fometimes overflowed when the
water was high. The people hereabouts
are faid to be troubled in fummer with im-
menfe fwarms of gnats or mufquetoes,
which fting them and their cattle. This
was afcribed to the low fwampy meadows,
on which thefe infects depofite their eggs,

which are afterwards hatched by the heat.
As foon as we had got over theriver, we
were upon Staten Ifland, which is quite
furrounded with falt water. This is the
beginning of the province of New York.
Moft of the people fettled here were Dutch-
men, or fuch as came hither whilft the
Dutch were yet in pofleffion of this place.
But at prefent they were fcattered among
the Exgh/b and other European inhabitants,
and {poke Engl/h for the greateft part.
The profpec& of the country here is ex-
tremely pleafing, as it is not fo much in-
tercepted by woods, but offers more cul-
tivated fields to view. Hills and vallies ftill
continued, as ufual, to change alternately.
Tue farms were near each other. Mott
of the houfes were wooden ; however fome
were built of ftone. Near every farm-houfe
was an orchard with apple trees: the fruit
was already for the greateft part gathered.
Here,

2.36 Oétober 1748.

Here, and on the whole journey before, I
obferved a prefs for cyder at every farm-
houfe, made in different manners, by which
the people had already preffed the juice out
of the apples, or were juft bufied with that
work. Some people made ufe of a wheel
made of thick oak planks, which turned
upon a wooden axis by means of a horfe
drawing it, much in the fame manner as
the people do with woad;* except that
here the wheel runs upon planks, Cherry
trees ftood along the enclofures round corn-
fields.

THE corn-fields were excellently Gitnated,
and either fown with wheat or rye. They
had no ditches on their fides, but (as is
-ufual in England) only furrows, drawn at
greater or lefler diftances from each other.

In one place we obferved a water mill, |
fo fituated, that when the tide flowed,

‘/ the water ran into a pond: but when it

ebbed, the floodgate was drawn up, and the
mill driven by the water, flowing out of
the pond.

AxsouT eight o’clock in the morning we
arrived at aie place where we were to crofs

_ the

* Dr. Linneus, in his Travels through Wefrogothia, has
given a drawing of the machine by which woad is prepared,
on the 128th. page.

New York. 239

the water, in order tocome to the town of
New York. We left our horfes here and
went on board the yacht: we were to go
eight Engl/b miles by fea; however we
landed about eleven o'clock in the morning
at New York. We fawa kind of wild ducks
in immenfe quantities upon the water : the
people called them Blue bills, and they
feemed to be the fame with our Puntail
ducks, or Linngus’s Anas acuta: but they
were very fhy. On the fhore of the conti-
nent we faw fome very fine floping corn-
fields, which at prefent looked quite green,
the corn being already come up. We faw
many boats in which the fifhermen were
bufy catching oyfters: to this purpofe they
make ufe of a kind of rakes with long iron
teeth bent inwards; thefe they ufed either
fingly or two tied together in fuch a man-
ner, that the teeth were turned towards
each other.

Odtober the 31ft. Asour New York
they find innumerable quantities of excel-
lent oyfters, and there are few places which
have oyfters of fuch an exquifite tafte, and
of fo great a fize: they are pemied and fent
to the Weft Indies and other places ; which
is done in the following manner. As
foon as the oyfters are caught, their fhells
are opened, and the fifth wafhed clean ;

fome

238 Ogiober 1748.

fome water is then poured into a pot, the
oyfters are put into it, and they muft boil
for a while; the pot is then taken off from

the fire again, the oyfters taken out and put |
upon a difh, till they are fomewhat dry:
then you take fome mace, allfpice, black
pepper, and as much vinegar as you think
is {uficient to give a fourith tafte. All this
is mixed with half the liquor in which the
oyfters were boiled, and put over the fire
again. While you boil it great care is to
be taken in {cumming off the thick feum ;
at laft the whole pickle is poured into a
glafs or earthen veffel, the oyfters are put
to it, and the vefiel is well ftopped to keep
out the air. In this manner, oyfters will
keep for years together, and may be fent to
the moft diftant parts of the world.

Tue merchants here buy up great quan-
tities of oyfters about this time, pickle them
in the above-mentioned manner, and fend
them to the Weft Indies: by which they fre-
quently make a confiderable profit: for,
the oyfters, which coft them five fhillings
of their currency, they commonly {ell for
a piftole, or about fix times as much as they
gave for them; and fometimes they get
even more: the oyfters which are thus
pickled have a very fine flavour. The fol-
lowing is another way of preferving a ;

they

New York. 239

they are taken out of the fhells, fried with
butter, put into a glafs or earthen veffel
with the melted butter over them, fo that
they are quite covered with it, and no air
can get tothem. Oyfters prepared in this
manner have likewife an agreeable tafte,
and are exported to the We/? Indies and other
arts. |

; OysTers are here reckoned very whole-
fome, fome people aflured us, that they
had not felt the leaft inconvenience, .after
eating a confiderable quantity of them. It
is likewife a common rule here that oyfters
are beft in thofe months which have an +r
in their name, fuch as September, OGober,
&c; but that they are not fo good in other
months ; however there are poor people,
who live all the year long upon nothing but

oyfters with bread. |
Tue fea near New York, affords annu-
ally the greateft quantity of oyfters. They
are found chiefly in a muddy ground, where
they lie in the flime, and are not fo fre-
_quent in a fandy bottom: a rockey and a
{tony bottom is feldom found here. The
oyfter fhells are gathered in great heaps,
and burnt into a lime, which by fome
people is made ufe of in building houfes,
but is not reckoned fo good as that made of
limeftone. On our journey to New York, we
faw

240 Oétober 1748. |

faw high heaps of oyfter fhells near the
farm-houfes, upon the fea fhore; and about |
New York, we obferved the people had car-
ried them upon the fields which were fown
with wheat. However they were entire,
and not crufhed.

Tue Indians who inhabited the coaft be-
fore the arrival of the Europeans, have made
oyfters and other fhell fith their chief food;
and at prefent whenever they come to a
falt water where oyfters are to be got, they
are very active in catching them, and fell
them in great quantities to other Indu us —
who live higher up the country: for this
reafon you fee immenfe numbers of oyfter
and mufcle fhells piled up near fuch places, |
where you are certain that the Indians for-
merly built their huts. This circumftance
ought to make us cautious in maintaining
that in all places on the fea fhore, or higher
up in the country, where fuch heaps of thells
are to be met with, that the latter have
lain there ever fince the time that thofe
places were overflowed by the fea.

LogsTers are likewife plentyfully caught
hereabouts, pickled much in the fame way
as oyfters, and fent to feveral places. I was
told of a very remarkable circumftance a-
bout thefe lobfters, and I have afterwards

frequently heard it mentioned. The ae
: O

~ New York. 241

of New York had already European inhabi-
tants for aconfiderable time, yet no lobfters
were to be met with on that coaft; and
though the people fifhed ever fo often, they
could never find any figns of lobfters being
in this part of the fea: they were there-
fore continually brought in great wellboats
from New England, where they are plen-
tiful; but it happened that one of thefe
wellboats broke in pieces near Hellgate,
about ten Englifh miles from New York,
and all the lobfters in it: got off. Since
that time they have fo multiplied in this
part of the fea, that they are now caught
in the greateft abundance.

» November the 1ft. “A KIND of cold fe-
ver, which the Ezg/j/h in this country call
Fever and Ague, is very common in feveral
parts of the Ezgljh colonies. There are
however other parts, where the people
have never felt it. I will in the fequel
defcribe the fymptoms of this difeafe at
large. Several of the moft confiderable in-
habitants of this town, affured me that
this difeafe was not near fo common in
New York, as it is in Penfylvania, where
ten were feized by it, to one in the former
province ; therefore they were of opinion,
that this difeafe was occafioned by the va-
Boiss arifing from f{tagnant frefh water, from

marthes,

242 November 1748.

marfhes, and from rivers ;; for which reafon
thofe provinces fituated on, the fea fhore,
could not be fo much affefted by it.. How-
ever the carelefnefs with. which people eat
quantities of melons, water melons, peach-
es, and other juicy fruit in fummer,. was
reckoned to contribute much _ towards the
progrefs of this fever; and repeated exam=
ples confirmed, the truth of this opinion,
The jefuit’s bark was reckoned sa good re-
medy againft it. It has however often been
found to have operated contrary to expecta-
tion, though I am ignorant whether it was
adulterated, or whether fome miftake had
been committed in the manner of taking ifs

Mr. Davis van Horne, a merchant,. told‘me
that he cured himfelf and feveral other
people of this fever, by the leaves of the
common Garden Sage, or Salvia officinalis. of
Linneus. The leaves are crufhed or pound-
ed in a mortar, and the juice is prefled out
of them; this is continued till they get a
fpoonful of the liquid, which is mixed with
lemon juice. This draught is taken about
the time that the cold fit comes on;. and
after taking it three or four times, the fever
does not come again.

Tue bark of the white oak was reckoned
the beft remedy which had as yet been found
againft the dyfentery. It is reduced .to a.

powder,

New York. — 243

powder, and then taken: fome people af-
fured me that in cafes where nothing would
help, this remedy had given a certain and
fpeedy relief. The people in this place
likewife make ufe of this bark (as is ufually
done in the Exglj/h colonies) to dye wool
a brown colour, which jooks like that
of bohea tea, and does not fade by being
expofed to the fun. Among the nume-
rous fhells which are found on the fea
fhore, there are fome which by the Engh/h
here are called Clams, and which bear fome
refemblance to the humanear. ‘They have
a confiderable thicknefs, and are chiefly
white, excepting the pointed end, which
both without and within has a blue colour,
between purple and violet. They are met
with in vaft numbers on the fea fhore of New
York, Long Ifland, and other places. The
fhells contain a large animal, which is eat-
en both by the Indians and Europeans fettled
here.

A CONSIDERABLE commerce is carried
on in this article, with fuch Indians as live
further up the country. When thefe peco-
ple inhabited the coaft, they were able to
catch their own clams, which at that time
made a great part of their food; but at
prefent this is the bufinefs of the Dutch and
Eingh/h, who live in Long Ifland and other

Q2 maritime

24-4 November 1748.

maritime provinces. As foon as the fhells
are caught, the fith is taken out of them,
drawn upon a wire, and hung up in the
open air, in order to dry by the heat’of the
fun. When this is done, the fith is put
into proper vefiels, and carried to Albany
upon the river Hudj/on; there the Indians
buy them, and reckon them one of their
beft difhes. Befides the Europeans, many
of the native Indians come annually down
to the fea fhore, in order to catch clams,
proceeding with them afterwards in the

manner I have juft defcribed. ~
Tue fhells of thefe clams are ufed by the
Indians as money, and make what they ©
call their wampum; they likewife ferve
their women for an ornament, when they
intend to appear in full drefs. Thefe wam-
pums are properly made of the purple parts
of the fhells, which the Indians value more
than the white parts. A traveller, who
goes to trade with the Indians, and is well
ftocked with them, may become a confide-
rable gainers; but if he take gold coin, or
bullion, he will undoubtedly be a lofer;
for the Indians who live farther up the
country, put little or no value upon thefe
metals which we reckon fo precious, as I
have frequently obferved in the courfe of
my travels. The Indians formerly pede
their

New York. 245

their own wampums, though not without a
deal of trouble: but at prefent the Euro-
peans employ themfelves that way; e{peci-
ally the inhabitants of /bany, who get a
confiderable profit by it. In the fequel I
intend to relate the manner of making the
wampum.

November the 2d. Besrpes the different
fects of chriftians, there are many Jews {et-
tled in New York, who poflefs great privi-
leges. They have a fynagogue and houfes,
and great country feats of their own pro-
perty, and are allowed to keep fhops in
town. They have likewife feveral fhips,
which they freight and fend out with their
own goods. In fine they enjoy all the pri-
vileges common to the other inhabitants of
this town and province.

DurRING my refidence at New York, this
time and in the two next years, I was fre-
quently in company with Jews. I was in-.
formed among other things, that thefe peo-
ple never boiled any meat for themfelves
‘on faturday, but that they always did it the
day before ; and that in winter they kept a
fire during the whole faturday. They com-
monly eat no pork; yet I have been told
by feveral men of credit, that many of them
(efpecially among the young Jews) when
travelling, did not not make the leaft diffi-

3 culty

246 November 1748.

culty about eating this, or any other meat
that was put before them ; even though they
were in company with chriftians. I was in
their fynagogue laft evening for the firft

time, and this day at noon I vifited it again,

and each time I was put into a particular feat
which was fet apart for ftrangers or chrifti-
ans. A young Raddi read the divine fervice,
which was partly in Hebrew, and partly in
the Rabinical diale&. Both men and wo-

men were drefled entirely in the Enghjb —

fathion ; the former had all of them their
hats on, and did not once take them off
during fervice. The galleries, I obferved,
were appropriated to the ladies, while the
men fat below, During prayers the men
fpread a white cloth over their heads ; which
perhaps is to reprefent fack cloth. But I
obferved that the wealthier fortof people had
a much richer cloth than the poorer ones.

Many of the men had Hebrew books, in

which they fang and read alternately. The
Rabbi ftood in the middle of the fynagogue,
and read with his face turned towards the

eaft; he {poke however fo faft, as to make.

it almoft impoffible for any one to under-
ftand what he faid.*

NEw

* As there are no Jews in Sweden, Prof. Kalm was an ut-

ter ftranger to their manners and religious ¢uftoms, and
therefore relates them as a kind of novelty. F.

New York. 247

. New York, the capital of a province of
the fame name is fituated under forty deg.
and forty min. north lat. and forty feven
deg. and four min. of weftern long. from
London; and is about ninety feven Exglifh
miles diftant from Philadelphia. ‘The fitu-
ation of it is extremely advantageous for
trade: for the town ftands upon a point
which is formed by two bays; into one of
which the river Hud/on difcharges itfelf,
not far from the town; New Yor is there-
fore on three fides furrounded with water :
the ground it is built on, is level in fome
parts, and hilly in others: the place is
generally reckoned very wholefome.

THE town was firft founded bythe Dutch:
this, it is faid, was done in the year 1623,
when they were yet mafters of the country :
they calledit New Am/ferdam, and the coun-
try itfelf New Holland. The Engh/b, towards
the end of the year 1664, taking poffeffion
of it under the conduct of Des Cartes, and
keeping it by the virtue of the next treaty
of peace, gave the name of New York to
both the town, and the province belong-
ing to it: in fize it comes neareft to Bo/fon
and Philadelphia. But with regard to its
fine buildings, its opulence, and extenfive
commerce, it difputes the preference with

Q4 them :

248 November 1748.

them: at prefent it is about halfiel as big
again as Gothenburgh in Sweden.
Tue ftreets do not run fo ftraight as thofe
of Philadelphia, and have fometimes confi-
derable bendings: however they are very
fpacious and well built, and moft of them
are paved, except in high places, where it
has been found ufelefs. In the chief ftreets
there are trees planted, which in fummer
give them a fine appearance, and during
the exceffive heat at that time, afford a
cooling fhade: I found it extremely pleafant
to walk in the town, for it feemed quite
Jike a garden: the trees which are planted.
for this purpofe are chiefly of two kinds.
The Water beech, or Linnauss Platanus
occidentals, are the moft numerous, and give
an agreeable fhade in fummer, by their
great and numerous leaves. The Locuft
tree, or Linneus’s Robinia Pfeud-Acacia is
likewife frequent: its fine leaves, and the
odoriferous {cent which exhales from its
flowers, make it very proper for being
planted in the ftreets near the houfes, and
in gardens. There are likewife lime trees
and elms, in thefe walks, but they are not
by far fo frequent as the others : one feldom
met with trees of the fame fort next to each
other, they being in general planted alter-
nately.
Besipes

New York. — 249

_Besipes numbers of birds of all kinds
which make thefe trees their abode, there
are likewife a kind of frogs which frequent
them in great numbers in fummer, they are
Dr. Linneus’s Rana arborea, and efpecially
the American variety of this animal. They
are very clamorous in the evening and in
the nights (efpecially when the days had
_ been hot, and a rain was expected) and in
a manner drown the finging of the birds.
They frequently make fuch a noife, that it
is dificult for a perfon to make himfelf
heard.

Most of the houfes are built of bricks ;
and are generally ftrong and neat, and feveral
ftories high. Some had, according to old
architecture, turned the gable-end towards
the ftreets; but the new houfes were alter-
ed in this refpect. Many of the houfes
had a balcony onthe roof, on which the
people ufed to fit in the evenings in the fum-
mer feafon; and from thence they had a
pleafant view of a great part of the town,
and likewife of part of the adjacent water
and of the oppofite fhore. The roofs are
commonly covered with tiles or fhingles :
the latter of which are made of the white
firtree, or Pinus Strobus (Linn. {p. plant.
page 1419.) which grows higher up in the
country. The inhabitants are of opinion

that

250 November 1748.

that a roof made of thefe fhingles’ is as
durable as one made in Pen/y/vania of the |
White Cedar, or Cupreffus thyoides ( Linn.
{pec. plant. page 1422.) The walls were
whitewafhed within, and I did not any
where fee hangings, with which the people
in this country feem in general to be but
little acquainted. The walls were quite
covered with all forts of drawings and pic-
tures in {mall frames. On each fide of the
chimnies they had ufually a fort of alcove ;
and the wall under the windows was wain-
{coted, and had benches placed near it.
‘The alcoves, and all the wood work were
painted with a bluifh grey colour.

THERE are feveral churches in the town,
which deferve fome attention. 1. The
Engh/bh Church, built in the year 1695, at ©
the weft end of the town, confifts of ftone,
and has a fteeple with a bell. 2. The.
new Dutch Church, which is likewife built
of ftone, is pretty large, and is provided
with a fteeple; it alfo has a clock, which
is the only one in the town. This church
ftands almoft due from north to fouth.
No particular point of the compafs has
here been in general attended to in erec-
ting facred buildings. Some churches,
ftand as is ufual from eaft to weft, others
from fouth to north, and others in different

pofitions.

New York. 255

pofitions. In this Dutch church, there is
neither altar, veftry, choir, fconces, nor
paintings. Some trees are planted round
it, which make it look as if it was built in
a wood. 3. The ld Dutch church, which
is alfo built of ftone. It is not fo large as
the new one. It was painted in the infide,
though without any images, and adorned
with a {mall organ, of which governor
Burnet made them a prefent. The men
for the moft part fit in the gallery, and the
women below. 4. The Prefbyterian Church,
which is pretty large, and was built but
lately. It is of ftone, and has a fteeple and a
bellinit. 5. Lhe German Lutheran Church.
6. The German Reformed Church. 7. The
French Church, for proteftant refugees. 8.
The Quaker’s Meeting houfe. 9. To thefe
may be added the Yew7zh Synagogue, which
I mentioned before.

Towarps the fea, on the extremity of
the promontory is a pretty good fortrefs,
called Fort George, which entirely com-
mands the port, and can defend the town,
at leaft from a fudden attack on the fea
fide. Befides that, it is likewife fecured on
the north or towards the fhore, by a palli-
fade, which however (as for a confiderable
time the people have had nothing to fear
from

252 November y 748.

from an enemy) is in many places in a very
bad ftate of defence.

THERE is no good water to be met with
in the town itfelf, but ata little diftance |
there is a large {pring of good water, which
the inhabitants take for their tea, and for the
ufes of thekitchen. Thofehowever, who are
lefs delicate in this point, make ufe of the
water from the wells in town, though it be
very bad. This want of good water lies
heavy upon the horfes of the ftrangers that
come to this place; for they do not like to
drink the water from the wells in the
town. |

THE port is a good one: fhips of the
-greateft burthen can lie in it, quite clofe up
to the bridge: butits wateris very falt, as
the fea continually comes in upon it; and
therefore is never frozen, except in extra-
ordinary cold weather. This is of great
advantage to the city and its commerce ; for
many fhips either come in or go out of the
port at any time of the year, unlefs the
winds be contrary; 4 convenience, which
as I have before obferved, is wanting at
Philadelphia. It is fecured from all violent
hurricanes from the fouth-eaft by Long Iland
which is fituated juft before the town:
therefore only the ftorms from the fouthweit
are dangerous to the fhips which ride at

anchor

New York. 253

anchor here, becaufe the port is open only
on that fide. The entrance however has its
faults: one of them is, that no men of
war can pafs through it; for though the
water is pretty deep, yet it is not fufficient-
ly fo for great fhips. Sometimes even mer-
chant fhips of a large fize have by the roll-
ing of the waves and by finking down be-
tween them, flightly touched the bottom,
though without any bad confequences.
Befides this, the canal is narrow; and for
this reafon many fhips have been loft here,
becaufe they may be eafily caft upon a fand,
if the fhip is not well piloted. Some old
people, who had conftantly been upon this
canal, affured me, that it was neither
deeper, nor fhallower at prefent, than in
their youth.

THE common difference between high
and low water at New York, amounts to
about fix feet, Exg/j/h meafure. But at a
certain time in every month, when the tide
flows more than commonly, the difference
in the height of the water is feven feet.

_ New Yorx probably carries on a more \,
extenfive commerce, than any town in the
Lingh/e North American provinces ; at leaft
it may be faid to equal them: Bo/ffon and
Philadelphia however come very near up to
it. The trade of New York extends to
ane many

254. November 1748.

many places, and it is faid they fend more
fhips from thence to London, than they do
from Philadelphia. ‘They export to that
capital all the various forts of {kins which
they buy of the Indians, fugar, logwood,
and other dying woods, rum, mahogany,
and many other goods which are the pro-
duce of the Weft Indies; together with all
the {fpecie which they get in the courfe of
trade. Every year they build feveral thips
here, which are fent to London, and there
fold ; and of late years they have fhipped a
quantity of iron to England. In return
for thefe, they import from London ftufts
and every other article of Exglj/b growth
or manufacture, together with all forts
of foreign goods. England, and efpecial-
ly London, profits immenfely by its trade
with the American colonies; for not only
New York, but likewife all the other En-
glib towns on the continent, import fo
many articles from England, that all their
fpecie, together with the goods which they
get in other countries, muft altogether go
to O/d England, in order to pay the amount,
to which they are however infufficient.
From hence it appears how much a well
regulated colony contributes to the increafe

and welfare of its mother country.
New York fends many fhips to the We?
Indies

New-York. >

” Jndies, with flour, corn, bifcuit, timber,

tuns, boards, flefh, fifh, butter, and other
provifions; together with fome of the few
fruits that grow here. Many fhips go to
Bofton in New England, with corn and
flour, and take in.exchange, flefh, butter,
timber, different forts of fifh, and other
articles, which they carry further to the
Weft Indies. They now and then take rum
from thence, which is diftilled there in

“great quantities, and fell it here with a

obliged to fend for foreign feed ; and hence

=

_confiderable advantage. Sometimes they

fend yachts with goods from New York to —
Philadelphia, and at other times yachts are
fent from Philadelphia to New York ; which
is only done, as appears from the gazettes,
becaufe certain articles are cheaper at one
place than at the other. They fend fhips
to Ireland every year, laden with all kinds
of Weft India goods; but efpecially with
linfeed, which is reaped in this province. I
have been aflured, that in fome years no
lefs than ten fhips have been fent to Ireland,
laden with nothing but linfeed; becaufe it

is faid. the flax in Jre/and does not afford

good feed. But probably the true reafon is
this: the people of Jre/and, in order to
have the better flax, make ufe of the plant
before the feed is ripe, and therefore are

if

256 November 1748.

it becomes one of the chief articles in
trade.

At this time a bufhel of linfeed is fold
for eight fhillings of New York currency,
or exactly a piece of eight.

Tue goods which are fhipped to the
Weft Indies, are fometimes paid for with
ready money, and fometimes with We
India goods, which are either firft brought
to New York, or immediately fent to Eng-
land or Holland. fa thip does not chufe to
take in Weft India goods in its return to New
York, or if no body will freight it, it often
goes to Newca/ftle in England to take in coals
for ballaft, which when brought home fell for
a pretty good price. In many parts of the
town coals are made ufe of, both for kitch-
en fires, and in rooms, becaufe they are
reckoned cheaper than wood, which at
prefent cofts thirty fhillings of New York
currency per fathom; of which meafure I
have before made mention. New York has
likewife fome intercourfe with South Caro-
lina; to which it fends corn, flour, fugar,
rum, and other goods, and takes rice in re-
turn, which is almoft the only COMMITS
exported from South Carohna.

Tue goods with which the province of
New York trades are not very numerous.
They chiefly export the fkins of animals,

which

New York. | 259

which are bought of the Indians about
O/wego ; great quantities of boards, coming
for the moft part from Albany ; timber and
ready made lumber, from that part of the
country which lies about the river Hud/on;
and laftly wheat, flour, barley, oats and
other kinds of corn, which are brought
from New ‘ferfey and the cultivated parts
of this province. I have feen yachts from
Wew Brunfwick, laden with wheat which
lay loofe on board, and with flour packed
up into tuns; and alfo with great quanti-
ties of linfeed. New York likewife exports
fome flefth and other provifions out of its
- own province, but they are very few; nor
is the quantity of peafe which the people
about /bany bring much greater. Iron
however may be had more plentifully, as it
is found in feveral parts of this province,
and is of aconfiderable goodnefs; but all
the other products of this country are of lit-
tle account.

Most of the wine, which is drank here
and in the other colonies is brought from
the Ifle of Madeira and is very ftrong and
fiery.

No manufactures of note have as yet

been eftablifhed here; at prefent they get
all manufaGtured goods, fuch as woollen
R and

wer

258 November 1748.

and linen cloth, &c. from England, and
efpecially from London.

Tue river Hudfon is very convenient for
the commerce of this city; as it is naviga-
ble for near a hundred and fifty Enghj/h
miles up the country, and falls into the
bay not far from the town, on its weftern
fide. During eight months of the year
this river is full of yachts, and other great-
er and leffer veffels, either going to New
York or returning from thence, laden ei-
ther with inland or foreign goods.

I cannot make a juft eftimate of the

fhips that annually come to this town or
fail from it. But I have found by the Pen-
fylvania gazettes that from the firft of De-
cember in 1729, to the fifth of December in
the next year, 211 fhips entered the port of
New York, and 222 cleared it; and fince
that time there has been a great increafe
of trade here.
. THE country people come to market in
/> New York, twice a week much in the fame
manner, as they do at Philadelphia; with
this difference, that the markets are here
kept in feveral places.

Tue governor of the province of New
York, refides here, and has a palace in the
fort. Among thofe who have been entruft-
ed with this poft, Wiliam Burnet deferves

to

New York. 259

to be had in perpetual remembrance. He
was one of the fons of Dr. Lomas Burnet
(fo celebrated on account of his learning)
and feemed to have inherited the know-
ledge of his father. But his great affiduity
in promoting the welfare of this province,
is what makes the principal merit of his
character. The people of New York there-
fore {till reckon him the beft governor they
ever had, and think that they cannot praife
his fervices too much. The many aftro-
nomical obfervations which he made in
thefe parts; are inferted in feveral Englhjb
works. In the year 1727, at the acceffion
of king George the II. tothe throne of
Great Britain, he was appointed gover-
nor of New England. In confequence of
this he left New York, and went to Bo/fon,
where he died univerfally lamented, on the
ath. of September 1729.

An affembly of deputies from all the
particular diftricts of the province of New
York, is held at New York once or twice
every year. It may be looked upon asa
parliament of dyet in miniature. Every
thing relating to the good of the province
is here debated. The governor calls the
aflembly, and diffolves it at pleafure: this
is a power which he ought only to make
ufe of, either when no farther debates are

R2 neceflary,

260 - November 1748.

neceflary, or when the members are not
fo unanimous in the fervice of their king
and country as is their duty: it frequently
however happens, that, led afide by ca-
price or by interefted views, he exerts it to
the prejudice of the province. The colony
has fometimes had a governor, whofe quar-
rels with the inhabitants, have induced
their reprefentatives, or the members of
the affembly, through a {pirit of revenge,
to oppofe indifferently every thing he pro-
pofed, whether it was beneficial to the |
country or not. In fuch cafes the govern-
or has made ufe of his power; diffolving
the affembly, and calling another foon af-
ter, which however he again diffolved upon
the leaft mark of their ill humour. By this
means he fo much tired them, by the many ~
expences which they were forced to bear in
fo fhort a time, that they were at laft glad
to unite with him, in his endeavours for
the good of the province. But there have
likewife been governors who have called
affemblies and diffolved thenr foon after,
merely becaufe the reprefentatives did not
act according to their whims, or would not
give their aflent to propofals which were
perhaps dangerous or hurtful to the com-
mon welfare.

Tue king appoints the governor accord-

ing

a a8

ing to his royal pleafure; but the inhabi-
tants of the province make up his excel-
-lency’s falary. Therefore a man entrufted
with this place has greater or lefler reve-
nues, according as he knows how to gain
the confidence of the inhabitants. There
are examples of governors in this, and other
provinces of North America, who by their
diffenfions with the inhabitants of their
refpective governments, have loft their
whole falary, his Majefty having no power
to make them pay it. If a governor had
no other refource in thefe circumftances, he
would be obliged either to refign his office,
or to be content with an income too {mall
for his dignity; or elfe to conform himfelf
in every thing to the inclinations of the in-
habitants: but there are feveral ftated pro-
fits, which in fome meafure make up for
this. 1. No one is allowed to keep a pub-
lic houfe without the governor’s leave ;
which is only to be obtained by the pay-
ment of a certain fee, according to the cir-
cumftances of the perfon. Some governors
therefore, when the inhabitants refufed to
pay them a falary, have hit upon the expe-
dient of doubling the number of inns in
their province. 2. Few people who intend
to be married, unlefs they be very poor,
will have their banns publifhed from the

R 3 pulpit;

262 November 1748.

pulpit; but inftead of this they get licences
from the governor, which impower any mi-
nifter to marry them. Now for fuch a li-
cence the governor receives about half a
guinea, and this collected throughout the
whole province, amounts to a confiderable
fum. 3. The governor figns all pafiports,
and efpecially of fuch as goto fea; and this
gives him another means of fupplying his
expences. There are feveral other advan-
tages allowed to him, but as they are very
trifling, I fhall omit them.
At the above aflembly the old laws are
reviewed and amended, and new ones are
made: and the regulation and circulation
of coin, together with all other affairs of
that kind are there determined. For it is
to be obferved that each Exgh/h colony in
North America is independent of the other,
and that each has its proper laws and coin,
and may be looked upon in feveral lights,
as a ftate by itfelf. From hence it hap-
pens, that in time of war, things go on
very flowly and irregularly here: for not
only the fenfe of one province 1s fometimes
directly oppofite to that of another; but
frequently the views of the governor, and
thofe of the affembly of the fame province,
are quite different : fo that it is eafy to fee,
that, while the people are quarrelling ajeve
the *

New York. 263

the beft and cheapeft manner of carrying
on. the war, an enemy has it in his power
to take one place after another. It has
commonly happened that whilft fome pro-
vinces have been fuffering from their ene-
mies, the neighbouring ones were quiet
and inactive, and as if it did not in the leatt
concern them. They have frequently ta-
ken up two or three years in confidering
whether they fhould give affiftance to an
opprefied fifter colony, and fometimes they
have exprefly declared themielves againtt it.
There are inftances of provinces who were
not only neuter in thefe circumftances, but
who even carried on a great trade with the
power which at that very time was attack-
ing and laying wafte fome other provinces.
Tue French in Canada, who are but an
inconfiderable body, in comparifon with
the Exgh/h in America, have by this pofition
of affairs been able to obtain great Advan-
tages in times of war; for if we judge
from the number and power of the Exglij/h,
it would feem very eafy for them to get

the better of the French in America.*
R 4 Ir

* Tuts has really happened by a greater union and exer-
tion of power from the colonies and the mother country; fo
that Canada has been conquered and its poffeffion has been
confirmed to Great Britain in the laft peace. F.

264. November 1748.

Ir is however of great advantage to the
crown of Exgland, that the North Ameri-
can colonies are near a country, under the
government of the French, like Canada,
There is reafon to believe that the king
never was earneft in his. attempts to expel
the French from their poffeffions there ;

though it might have been done with little — |

difficulty. For the Engij/h colonies in this
part of the world have encreafed fo much
in their number of inhabitants, and in
their riches, that they almoft vie with O/d
England. Now in order to keep up the

“=~ authority and trade of their mother country,

and to anfwer feveral other pupofes, they
are forbid to eftablifh new manufactures,
which would turn to the difadvantage of
the Briti/h commerce: they are not allowed
to dig for any gold or filver, unlefs they
fend them to Exg/and immediately: they
have not the liberty of trading to any parts
that do not belong to the Britz/b dominions,
excepting fome fettled places, and foreign
traders are not allowed to fend their fhips to
them. Thefe and fome other reftrictions,
occafion the inhabitants of the Exgli/h colo-
nies to grow lefs tender for their mother
country. This coldnefs is kept up by the
many foreigners fuch as Germans, Dutch
and French fettled here, and living ag

. the

New York. 265

the Engh/b, who commonly have no par-
ticular attachment:to O/d England; add to
this likewife that many people can never
be contented with their poffleffions, though
they be ever fo great, and will always be _
defirous of getting more, and of enjoying
the pleafure which arifes from changing ;
and their over great liberty, and their luxury
often lead them to licentioufnefs.

I nave been told by. Englhj/hmen, and
not only by fuch as were born in America,
but even by fuch as came from Europe,
that the Exgi/b colonies in North- America,
in the {pace of thirty or fifty years, would
be able to form a ftate by themfelves, en-
tirely independent on O/d England. But
as the whole country which lies along the
fea fhore, !is unguarded, and on the land
fide is harraffed by the French, in times of
war thefe dangerous neighbours are fuffici-
ent to prevent the connection of the colo-
nies with their mother country from being
quite broken off. The Engi/h government
has therefore fufficient reafon to confider
the French in North-America, as the beft
means of keeping the colonies in their due
fubmiffion. But, I am almoft gone too far
from my purpofe; I will therefore finith
my obfervations on New York.

_ Tue declination of the magnetic needle,
| in

266 November 1748.

in this town was obferved by Philip Wells,
the chief engineer of the province of New
York, in the year 1686, to be eight deg.
and forty-five min. to the weftward. But
in 1723, it was only feven deg. and twenty
min. according to the obfervations of go-
vernor Burnet.

From hence we may conclude that in

thirty-eight years the magnet approaches

about one deg. and twenty five min. nearer
to the true north; or, which is the fame
thing, about two min. annually. Mr.
Alexander, a man of great knowledge in
aftronomy and in mathematics, affured me
from feveral obfervations, that in the year
1750, on the eighteenth of September the
deviation was to be reckoned fix deg. and
twenty two min.

THERE are two printers in the town, and

| every week fome Englhj/b gazettes are pub-

lifhed, which contain news from all parts

~ of the world.

THE winter is much more fevere here,
than in Penfylvania ; it being nearly as cold
as in fome of the provinces of Sweden: its
continuance however is much fhorter than
with us: their {pring is very early and their
autumn very late, and the heat in fummer
is exceffive. For this reafon, the melons
fown in the fields are ripe at the aes.

Qr

New York. | 267

of Auguft ; whereas we can hardly bring
them fo foon to maturity under glaffes and
on hot beds. The cold of the winter, 1
cannot juftly determine, as the meteorolo-
gical obfervations which were communicat-
ed to me, were all calculated after ther-
mometers, which were fo placed in the
houfes, that the air could not freely come at
them. The fnow lies for fome months to-
gether upon the ground; and fledges aremade
ufe of here as in Sweden, but they are rather
‘too bulky. The river Hud/on is about an
Englifh mile and a half broad at its mouth:
the difference between the higheft flood and
the loweft ebb is between fix and feven
feet, and the water is very brackifh: yet
the ice ftands in it not only one but even
feveral months: it has fometimes a thick-
nefs of more than two feet.

Tue inhabitants are fometimes greatly
troubled with Mu/quitoes. They either
follow the hay which is made near the
town, in the low meadows which are quite
penetrated with falt water; or they accom-
pany the cattle at night when it is brought
home. I have myfelf experienced, and have
obferved in others, how much thefe little
animalcules can disfigure a perfon’s face dur-
ing a fingle night; for the fkin is fometimes

3 | | fo

268 November 1748.

fo covered over with little blifters from théir
{tings, that people are afhamed to appear in
public. ‘The water melons which are culti-
vated near the town grow very large: they
are extremely delicious, and are better than
in other parts of North America; though
they are planted in the open fields and
never ina hot-bed. I faw a water melon
at Governor Clinton’s in September 1750,
which weighed forty feven Englith pounds,
and at a merchant’s in town another of forty
two pounds weight: however they were
reckoned the biggeft ever feen in this coun-

try.
sis the year 1710, five kings, or Sachems
of the Iroguois went from hence to England,
in order to engage Queen Anne to make an
alliance with them againft the French.
Their names, drefs, reception at court,
{peeches to the Queen, opinion of England
and of the European manners, and feveral
other particulars about them are fufficiently —
known from other writings; it would there-
fore be here unneceflary to enlarge about
them. The kings or Sachems of the Indi-
ans, have commonly no greater authority
over their fubjets than conftables in a meet-
ing of the inhabitants of a parifh, and hard-
ly fo much. On my travels through the
country of thefe Indians, 1 had never any
occafion

New York. 269

occafion to go and wait upon the Sachems ;
for they always came into my habitation
without being afked: thefe vifits they com-
monly paid in order to get a glafs or two
of brandy, which they value above any
thing they know. . One of the five Sachems
mentioned above, died in England; the
others returned fafe. nthe

Tue. firft colonifts in New York were
Dutchmen: when the town and its territo-
ries were taken by the Engij/h, and left
them by the next peace in exchange for
Surinam, the old inhabitants were allowed
either to remain at New York, and to enjoy
all the priviledges and immunities which
they were poflefied of before, or to leave
the place with all their goods: moft of them
chofe the former; and therefore the inha-
bitants both of the town and of the pro-
vince belonging to it, are yet for the great-
eft part Dutchmen; who ftill, efpecially the
old people, fpeak their mother tongue.

Tuey begin however by degrees to change
their manners and opinions; chiefly indeed
in the town and in its neighbourhood: for
moft of the young people now fpeak prin-
—cipally Engh/b, and go only to the Enghjh
church ; and would even take it amifs, if
they were called Dutchmen and not Enghi/b-
men.

THOUGH

270 November 1748.

TuoucuH the province of New York hag
been inhabited by Europeans, much longer
than Pen/y/vania, yet it is not by far fo po-
pulous as that colony. This cannot be af-
cribed to any particular difcouragement a-
rifing from the nature of the foil; for that
is pretty good: but I was told of a very
different reafon, which I will mention here.
In the reign of Queen Anne about the year

1709, many Germans came hither, who

got a tract of land from the government on
which they might fettle. After they had
lived there for fome time, and had built
houfes and churches, and made corn-fields
and meadows, their liberties and privileges
were infringed, and under feveral pretences
they were repeatedly deprivedof parts of their
land. This at laft rouzed the Germans ; they

returned violence for violence, and beat thofe

who thus robbed them of their poffeffions.
But thefe proceedings were looked upon in
a very bad light by the government: the
moft active people among the Germans be-
ing taken up, they were very roughly treated,

and punifhed with the utmoft rigour of the
law. This however fo far exafperated the

reft, that the greater part of them left their
houfes and fields, and went to fettle in Pen-
fylvania : there they were exceedingly well
received, gota confiderable tract of seo

and

_
pees
eo,

New York. 271%

and were indulged in great privileges which
were given them forever. The Germans
not fatisfied with being themfelves removed
from New York, wrote to their relations
and friends and advifed them, if ever they
intended to come to America, not to goto.
New York, where the government had
fhewn itfelf fo unequitable. This advice
had fuch influence, that the Germans, who
afterwards went in great numbers to North
America, conftantly avoided New York and
always went to Pen/fy/vania. It fometimes
happened that they were forced to goon
board fuch fhips as were bound to New
York; but they were fcarce got on fhore,
when they haftened on to Pen/ylvania in

fight of all the inhabitants of New York.
Bur the want of people in this province
may likewife be accounted for in a different
manner. As the Dutch, who firft culti-
vated this country, obtained the liberty of
ftaying here by the treaty with England,
and of enjoying all their privileges and ad-
vantages without the leaft limitation, each
of them took a very large piece of ground
for himfelf, and many of the more power-
ful heads of families made themfelves the
pofieflors and mafters of a country of as
great an extent as would be fufficient to form
a middling and even a great parifh. Moft
of

272 November 1748. : /-

of them being very rich, their envy of, the —
| Engh/h \ed them not to fell them any land, —
| but at an exceflive rate; a practice which
/is ftill punctually obferved among their —
| defcendants. The Engijh thereforeas well
as people of different mations, have little —
encouragement to fettle here. On the other
hand they have fufficient opportunity inthe —
other provinces, to purchafe land ata more —
moderate price, and with.more fecurity to
themfelves. It is not then to be wondered,
that fo many parts of New York are full
uncultivated, and have entirely the appear-
ance of defarts. This inftance may teach
us how much a {mall miftake in a govern-
ment will injure population.

November the 3d. ABoUT noon we fet
out from New York on our return, and
continuing our journey, we arrived at Pdi-
ladelphia on the fifth of November.

In the neighbourhood of this capital (of
Penfylvania) the people had a month ago
made theit cyder, which they were obliged
to do, becaufe their apples were fo ripe as —
to drop from the trees. But on our journey
through New York we obferved the people
ftill employed in preffing out the cyder.
This isa plain proof that in Penfylvania
the apples are fooner ripe than in New |
York; but whether this be owing to the

nature

is?

abe hits

ifs
"
%

\ si
hve 4 ®
yrol tae seis"

AMERICAN POLE-CAT., |

— ..

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. OUERE gy <

nature of the foil, ora yvreater heat of the
fummer in Philadelphia, or to fome other
caufe I know not. However there is not
the leaft advantage in making cyder fo early:
for long experience had taught the hufband-~
men that it is worfe for being made’ early
in the year; the great heat in the begin-
ning of autumn being faid to hinder the fer-
mentation of the j juice.

THERE is a certain ‘quadruped which
is pretty common not only in Pen/y/vania,
but likewife in other provinces both of
“South and North America, and goés by the
name of Polecat among the Engh/b. In
New York they penerally call it Skunk.
The Swedes here by way of nickname
called it Fy/katta, on account of the horrid
ftench it fometimes cavfes as I {hall prefent-
ly fhow. The French in Canada, for the
fame reafon call it Béte puante or ftinking
animal, and Enfant du diable or child of
the devil. Some of them likewife call it
Pekan: Catefby in bis Natural Hiftory of
Carolina, has defcribed it in Vol. 2. p. 62.
by the name of Putorius Americanus firtatus
and drawn it plate 62. Dr. Linnaeus calls it
Prverra Putorus. * This animal, which is

S very

* Or this animal and of the above-mentioned Racoon is a
reprefentation given plate 2. both from original drawings 3
the German and the Swedifh edition of Prof. Kalm’s work:
being both without this plate. F..

274. November 1748.

very fimilar to the Marten, is of about the
fame fize and commonly black: on the back
it has a longitudinal white ftripe and two
others on each fide, parallel to the former.
Sometimes but very feldom, fome are feen
which are quite white. On our return to
Philadelphia we {aw one of thefe animals
not far from town ‘near a farmer’s houfe,
killed by dogs. And afterwards I had dur-
ing my ftay in thefe parts feveral oppor-
tunities of feeing it and of hearing its qua-
lities. It keeps its young ones in holes in
the ground and in hollow trees; for it —
does not confine itfelf to the ground, but
climbs up trees with the greateft agility:
it is a great enemy to birds; for it breaks
their eggs and devours their young ones;
and if it can get into a hen rooft it foon def-
troys all its inhabitants. |
Tus animal has a particular quality by
which it is principally known; when it is
purfued by men or dogs it runs at firft as
faft as it can, or climbs upona tree; but
if it is fo befet by its purfuers, as to have
no other way of making its efcape, it {quirts
its urine upon them. This according to
fome it does by wetting its tail with the
urine whence by a fudden motion it {catters
it abroad ; but others believe, that it could
fend its urine equally far without the help |
of its tail; I find the former of thefe accounts |
fO; |

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 275 ©

to be the moft likely. For, fome credible
people aflured me, that they have had their
faces wetted with it allover; though they
ftood above eighteen feet off from the ani-
mal. The urine has fo horrid a {tench that
nothing can equal it: it is fomething like
that of the Crane/bill or Linneus’s Geranium
robertianum,. but infinitely ftronger. Ifyou
come near a polecat when it {preads its
ftench, you cannot breathe for a while,
and is feems as if you were ftifled; and
in cafe the urine comes into the eyes, a
perfon is likely to be blinded. Many dogs
that in a chace purfue the polecat very
eagerly, run away as faft as they can when
they are wetted: however, if they be of
the true breed, they will not give over the
purfuit till they have caught and killed the
polecat; but they are obliged now and then
to rub their nofes in the ground in order to
telieve themfelves.

Crotues which have been wetted by this
animal retain the fmell for more than a
month ; unlefs they be covered with freth foil,
and fuffered to remain under it for twenty
four hours together ; when it will ina great
meafure be removed. Thofe likewife who
_ have got any of this urine upon their face
and hands, rub them with loofe earth and
fome even hold their hands in the ground
for an hour; as wafhing will not help them

| 5 2 fo

276 November 1748.

fo foon. A certain man of rank who had
by accident been wetted by the polecat,
ftunk fo ill, that on going into a houfe,
the people either ran away, oron his open-
ing the door, rudely denied him entrance.
Dogs that have hunted a polecat are fo
offenfive for {ome days afterwards, that they
cannot be borne in the houfe.. At PAzla-
delphia I once faw a great number of people
on amarket day throwing at a dog that
was fo unfortunate as to have been engaged
with a polecat juft before, and to carry —
about him the tokens of its difpleafure. Per-
fons when travelling through a foreft are
often troubled with the ftink which this
creature makes; and fometimes the air is
fo much infected that it 1s neceffary to hold
ones nofe. If the wind blows from the
place where the pole-cat has been, or if it
be quite calm, as at night, the {mell is
more ftrong and difagreeable. 3
In the winter of 1749, a pole-cat tempt-
ed by a dead lamb, came one night near
the farm houfe where I then flept. Being
immediately purfued by fome dogs, it had
recourfe to its ufual expedient in order to
get rid of them. The attempt fucceeded,
the dogs not choofing to continue the —
purfuit: the ftink was fo extremely great
that, though I was at fome diftance it
affected me in the fame manner as 4 :
a

~ Penfylvama, Philadelphia. a7
had been ftifled ; and it was fo difagreeable

to the cattle that it made them roar very
loudly: however, by degrees it vanifhed.
Towards the end of the fame year one of
thefe animals got into our cellar, but no
{tench was obferved, for it only vents that
when it is purfued. The cook however
found for feveral days together that fome
of the meat which was kept there was eaten;
and fufpecting that it was done by the cat
fhe fhut up all avenues, in order to prevent
‘their getting at it. But the next night be-
ing awoke by a noifein the cellar, fhe went
down, and though it was quite dark, faw an
animal with two fhining eyes, which feem-
ed to be all on fire; fhe however refolutely
killed it, but not before the polecat had
filled the cellar with a moft dreadful ftench.
The maid was fick of it for feveral days ; and
all the bread, flefh, and other provifions kept
in the cellar were fo penetrated with it,
that we could not make the leaft ufe of
them, and were forced to throw them all
away.

FRom an accident that happened at New
York to one of my acquaintances, I conclude
that the polecat either is not always very
fhy, or that it fleeps very hard at night.
This man coming home out of a wood ina
fummer evening, thought that he faw a plant
A 3 3 {tanding

278 November 1748.
ftanding before him; ftooping to pluck it,

he was to his coft convinced of his miftakey
by being all on a fudden covered with the
urine of a polecat, whofe tail as it ftood up+
right, the good man had taken for a plant:
the creature had taken its revenge fo effec-
tually that he was much at a lofs how to
get rid of the ftench.

However though thefe animals play
{uch difagreeable tricks, yet the Englj/h, the
Swedes, the French, and the Indians in thefe
parts tame them. They follow their maf-
ters like domeftic animals, and never make
ufe of their urine, except they be very
much beaten or terrified. When the Indi-
ans kill {uch a polecat, they always eat its
fiefh, but when they pull off its fkin, they
take care to cut away the bladder, that the
flefh may not get a tafte fromit. I have
{fpoken with both Engh/bmen and French- —
men, who aflured me that they had eaten of
it, and found it very good meat, and not
much unlike the flefh of a pig. The fkin
which is pretty coarfe, and has long hair,
is not made ufe of by the Europeans; but
the Indians prepare it with the hair on, and
make tobacco pouches of it, which they
carry before them.

November the 6th. In the evening I
went out of town to Mr. Bartram, I found

a man

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 279

a man with him, who lived in Carolina and
I obtained feveral particulars about ° that
province from him ; a few of which I will
here mention.

‘TAR, pitch and rice are the chief pro-
ducts of Carolina. The foil is very fandy, |
and therefore many pines and firs grow in
it, from which they make tar: the firs
which are taken for this purpofe are com-
monly fuch as are dried up of themfelves;
the people here in general not knowing
how to prepare the fits by taking the bark
off on one, or on feveral fides, as they do
in Offrobothnia. In fome parts of Carolina
they likewife make ufe of the branches. The

manner of burning or boiling, as the man
defcribes it to me; HE entirely the fame as in
Finland. ‘The pitch is thus made: they
dig a hole into the ground and fmear the
infide well with clay, into which they
pour the tar, and make a fire round it,
which is kept up till the tar has got the
confiftence of pitch. They make two kinds
of tar in the North American colonies: one
is the common tar, which I have above
defcribed, and which is made of the ftems,
branches, and roots of fuch firs, as were
already confiderably dried out before; which
is the moft common way in this country.
The other mane in a the bark from
S 4 the

~<

280 November 1748.

the firs on one fide, and afterwards letting
them ftand another year ; during which the
refin comes out between the cracks of the
{tem. The tree is then felled and burnt
for tar; and the tar. thus made is called
green tar, not that there is that difference of
colour init, for in this refpect they are both
pretty much alike; but the latter is called
fo from being made of green and frefh trees ;
whereas common tar 1s made of dead trees:
the burning is done in the fame manner as
in Finland. ‘They ufe only black firs; for
the white firs will not ferve this purpofe,
though they are excellent for boards, matts,
&c. green tar is dearer than common tar.
It is already a pretty general complaint that
the fir woods are almoft wholly deftroyed

by this practice. |
Rice is planted in great quantity in Ca-
rolina; it fucceeds beft. in marfhy and —
{wampy grounds, which may be laid un-
der water, and likewife ripens there the
fooneft. Where thefe cannot be had, they
mutt choofe a dry foil; but the rice pro-
duced here will be much inferior to the
other: the land on which it is cultivated
muft never be manured, In Carohna they
fow it in the middle of 4pr7/, and it is ripe
in September: itis planted in rows like peafe,
and commonly fifteen inches fpace 1s left
' between

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 281

between the rows; as foon as the plants
are come up, the gee is laid under water.
This not only greatly forwards the growth
of the rice, but likewife kills all weeds, fo
as to render weeding unneceflary. The ftraw
of rice is faid to be excellent food for cat-
tle, who eat it very greedily. Rice requires
a hot climate, and therefore it will not
fucceed well in Virginia, the {ummer there
being too fhort, and the winter too cold;

and much lefs will it grow in Penfyluania.
They are as yet ignorant in Carona of the

art of making arrack from rice: it is chief- A‘

ly South Carolina that produces the ereateft
quantity of rice; and on the other hand
they make the moft tar in North Carolina.
November the 7th. Tue ftranger from
Carolina whom I have mentioned before,
had met with many oyfter fhells at the bot-
tom of a well, feventy Englifh miles dif-
tant from the fea, and four from a river:
they lay in a depth of fourteen Englith feet
from the furface of the earth: the water in
the well was brackith; but that in the river
was frefh. ‘The fame man, had at the
building of a faw-mill, a mile and a half
_from a river, found, firft fand, and then
clay filled with oyfter fhells. Under thefe
he found feveral bills of fea birds as he call-
ed them, which were already quite petri-

fied: they were probably Glofopetre.
THERE

282 November 1748.

THERE are two fpecies of foxes in the
Engh/b colonies, the one grey, and the
other red: but in the fequel I thall thew
that there are others which fometimes ap-
pear in Canada. ‘The grey foxes are here con-
ftantly, and are very common in Pen/ylva-
nia and in the fouthern provinces: in the
northern ones they are pretty fcarce, and
the French in Canada, call them Virginian
Foxes on that account: in fize they do not
quite come up to our foxes. ‘They do no
harm tolambs; but they prey upon all forts
of poultry, whenever they can come at
them. They do not however feem to be
looked upon as animals that caufe a great
deal of damage; for there is no reward
given for killing them : their fkin is great-
ly fought for by hatters, who employ the
hair in their work. People have their
clothes lined with it fometimes ; the greafe
is ufed againft all forts of rheumatic pains.
Thefe foxes are faid to be lefs nimble than
the red ones: they are fometimes tamed ;
though they be not fuffered to run about
but are tied up. Mr. Cate/by has drawn
and defcribed this fort of foxes in his Na-
tural biftory of Carolina, by the name of the
grey American fox, vol. 2. p. 78. tab. 78,
A {fkin of it was fold in Philadelphia for two
fhillings and fix-pence in Penfylvanian cur-
rency. | THE

Penfjloania, Philadelpbia. 283

Tue red Foxes are very fcarce here: they
are entirely the fame with the European
fort. ‘Mr. Bartram, and feveral others
affured me, that according to the unani- —
mous teftimony of the Indians, this kind of
foxes never was in the country, before the
Europeans fettled in it. But of the man-
ner of their coming over I have two dif-
ferent accounts: Mr. Bartram and feveral
other people were told by the Indians, that
thefe foxes came into America foon after
the arrival of the Europeans, after an extra-
. ordinary cold winter, when all the fea to
the northward was frozen: from hence
they would infer, that they could perhaps
get over to America upon the ice from
Greenland or the northern parts of Europe
and 4fa. But Mr. Evans, and fome others
affured me that the following account was
ftill known by the people. A gentleman
of fortune in New England, who had a
_ great inclination for hunting, brought over
a great number of foxes from Europe, and
let them loofe in his territories, that he
might be able to indulge his pafiion for
hunting.* This is faid to have happened

almoft

* NEITHER Of thefe accounts appear to be fatisfaétory ;
and therefore I am inclined to believe that thefe red foxes

originally came over from 4fa, (molt probably from Kam-
tchatha

284 | November 1748.

almoft at the very beginning of New Eng-
land’s being peopled with European inha-
bitants. Thefe foxes were believed to have
fo multiplied, that all the red foxes.in the
country were their offspring. At prefent
they are reckoned among the noxious crea-
tures in thefe. parts; for they are not content-
ed, as the grey foxes with killing fowl ; but
they likewife devour the lambs. In Pen-
fylvania therefore there is a reward of two
fhillings for killing an old fox, and of one
fhilling for killing a young one. And in

all the other provinces there are likewife

rewards offer’d for killing them, Their
{kin is in great requeft, and is foldas dear
as that of the grey foxes, that is two fhil-

- lin gs

tchatka where this fpecies is common, fee Miller’s Account
of the Navigations of the Ruffians, &c.) though in remote
times, and thus fpread over North America. It 1s perhaps
true that the Indians never took notice of them till the
Europeans were fettled among them; this, however, was
becaufe they never had occafion to ufe their fkins: but when
there was a demand for thefe they began to hunt them, and,
as they had not been much accuftomed to them before,
they efteemed them asanovelty. What gives additional com-
firmation to this is, that when the Ru/fZans under Commo-
dore Bering landed on the weftern coaft of America, they faw
five red foxes which were quite tame, and feemed not to be
in the leaft afraid of men: now this might very well have
been the cafe if we fuppofe them to have been for many

. generations in a place where no body difturbed them; but.

we cannot account for it, if we imagine that they had been
ufed to a country where there were many inhabitants, or
where they had been much hunted. F.

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 288

lings and fix-pence, in Penfylvanian cut-
rency. | ,

Tuey have two varieties of Wolves here,
which however feem to be of the fame
fpecies. For fome of them are yellowifh,
or almoft pale grey, and others are black
or dark brown. All the old Swedes related,
that during their childhood, and ftill more
at the arrival of their fathers, there were
exceflive numbers of wolves in the country,
_and that their howling and yelping might
be’ heard all night. They likewife fre-
quently tore in pieces, fheep, hogs, and
other young and {mall cattle. About that
time or foon after, when the Swedes and
the Engh/bh were quite fettled here, the
Indians were attacked by the {mall pox:
this difeafe they got from the Europeans,
for they knew nothing of it before: it
killed many hundreds of them, and moft
of the Indians of the country, then called
New Sweden died of it. The wolves then
came, attracted by the ftench of fo many
corpfes, in fuch great numbers that they
devoured them all, and even attacked the
poor fick Indians in their huts, fo that the
few healthy ones had enough todo, to drive
them away. But fince that time they have
difappeared, fo that they are now feldom
{cen, and it is very rarely that they commit
any

286 — November 1784...

any diforders. This is attributed to the
greater cultivation of the country, and to
their being killed in great numbers. But
further up the country, where it is not yet
fo much inhabited; they. are ftill very abun-
dant. .On the coafts. of Penfylvanta and
New ferfey, the fheep ftay all night in the
fields, without the. people’s fearing the
wolves: however to prevent their multi- —
plying too much, there is a reward of twen-
ty fhillings in Pen/y/vama, and of thirty in
New Ferfey, for delivering in a dead wolf, —
and the perfon that brings it may keep the —
fkin. But for a young wolf the reward is
only ten fhillings of the Pen/ylvanian cur-
rency. There are examples of thefe wolves
being made as tame as dogs.
Tue wild Oxen have their abode princi-
_ pally in the woods of Carolina, which are
‘far up in the country. The inhabitants
frequently hunt them, and falt their flefh
like common beef, which is eaten by fer-
vants and the lower clafs of people. But
the hide is of little ufe, having too large
pores to be made ufe of for fhoes. How-
ever. the poorer people in Carona, {pread
thefe hides on the ground inftead of beds.
Tue Vifcum flamentofum, or Febraus mi ifle-
foe, is found in abundance in Carohna; the
inhabitants make ufe of it as ftraw in their
eds,

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 287

beds, and to adorn their honfes; the cat=
tle are very fond of it: it is likewife em-
ployed in packing goods.

Tue Spartium fcoparium grew in Mr.
Bartram’s garden from Englih feeds; he
faid that he had feveral bufhes of it, but
that the froft in the cold winters here had
killed moft of them: they however grow
fpontaneoully in Sweden. _

Mr. Bartram had fome Truffles, or + Lin
neus’s Lycoperdon Tuber, which he had got
out of a fandy foil in New. Ferfey, where
they are abundant. Thefe he fhewed to
his friend from Carolna, and afked him.
whether they were the Tuckahoo of the In-
dians. But the ftranger denied it, and ad-
ded that though thefe truffles were likewife
very common in Carolina, yet he had never
feen them ufed any other way but in milk,
againit the dyfentery; and he gave us the
following defcription of the Zuckahoo. It
grows in Hevesi {wamps and marfhes, and
is commonly plentiful. The hogs greedily
dig up its roots with their nofes in fuch
places; and the Indians in Carola likewife
gather them in their rambles in the woods,
dry them in the fun fhine, grind them and
bake bread of them. Whilft the root is
freth it is harfh and acrid, but being. dried
it lofes the greateft part of its acrimony.

To

a ast
“pant

288 November 1748. |

To judge by thefe qualities the Tuckahoe
may very likely be the rum Virginianum.
Compare with this account, what fhall be
related in the fequel of the Tahim and
Tuckab. |

Arter dinner I again returned to town.

November the 8th. SeveRAL Enghjb and
Swedi/hb oeconomifts kept bee-hives, which
afforded their poffefiors profit: for bees fuc-
ceed very well here: the wax was for the
moft part fold to tradefmen : but the honey
they made ufe of in their own families, in

different ways. The people were unani-
mous, that the common bees were not in

North America before the arrival of the
Europeans ; but that they were firft brought
over by the Engh/h who fettled here. The
Indians \ikewife generally declare, that their

_/fathers had never feen any bees either in
»\ the woods or any where elfe, before the
Europeans had been feveral years fettled

here. This is further confirmed by the
name which the Indians give them: for
having no particular name for them in their
language, they call them Exngh/b flies, be-
caufe the Exgh/h firft brought them over :
but at prefent they fly plentifully about the
woods of North America. However it has
been obferved that the bees always when
they fwarm, fpread to the fouthward, and

never

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 289

never tothenorthward. It feems as if they
do not find the latter countries fo good for
their conftitution: therefore they cannot
ftay in Canada, and all that have been car-
ried over thither, diedin winter. It feem-
ed to me as if the bees in America were
fomewhat fmaller than ours in- Sweden.
They have not yet been found in the woods
on the other fide of the Blue Mountains,
which confirms the opinion of their being
brought to America of late. A man told
Mr. Bartram, that on his travels in the
woods of North America, he had found
another fort of bees, which, inftead of fe-
parating their wax and honey, mixed it
both together ina great bag. But this ac-
count wants both clearing up and confirm-
ing.
November the goth. Att the old Swedes
and Enxgh/hmen born in America whom }
ever queftioned, afferted that there were not ©
near fo many birds fit for eating at prefent,
as there ufed to be when they were chil-
dren, and that their decreafe was vifible.:
They even faid, that they had heard their
fathers complain of this, in whofe child-
hood the bays, rivers and brooks were
quite covered with all forts of water fowl,
fuch as wild geefe, ducks, and the like.
But at prefent there is fometimes not a

| fingle

290 November 1748.

fingle bird upon them; about fixty or fe-
venty years ago, a fingle perfon could kill
eighty ducks in a morning ; but at prefent
you frequently wait in vain for a fingle
one. A Swede above ninety years old,
affured me that he had in his youth killed
twenty-three ducks at a fhot. This good
luck no body is likely to have at prefent,
as you are forced to ramble about for a
whole day, without getting a fight of more
than three or four. Cranes* at that time
came hither by hundreds in the {pring: at —

prefent there are but very few. The wild
Turkeys, and the birds which the Swedes
in this country call Partridges and Hazel-
hens were in whole flocks in the woods.
But at this time a perfon is tired with

walking before he can ftart a fingle bird.
Tue caufe of this diminution is not dif-
ficult to find. Before the arrival of the
Europeans, the country was uncultivated,
and full of great forefts. The few Indians
that lived here feldom difturbed the birds.
They carried on no trade among themfelves,
iron and gun powder were unknown to
them.

*Wuen Captain Amadas, the firlt Engli/hman that ever
landed in North America, fet foot on fhore (to ufe his own
words) /uch a flocke of Cranes (the moft part white) arofe under
us with fuch a cry, redoubled by many echoes, as if an armie of
men had foouted altogether. |

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 2g1

them. One hundredth part of the fowl
which at that time were fo plentiful here,
would have fufficed to feed the few inhabi-
tants ; and confidering that they cultivated
their fmall maize fields, caught fifh, hunt-
ed ftags, beavers, bears, wild cattle, and
other animals whofe flefh was delicious to
them, it will foon appear how little they
-difturbed the birds. But fince the arrival
of great crouds of Ewropeans, things are
greatly changed : the country is well peo- _
pled, and the woods are cut down: the
people increafing in this country, they have
by hunting and fhooting in part aise a es

the birds, in part feared them away:
ipring the people ftill take both eggs, mo-
thers and young indifferently, becaufe no
regulations are made to the contrary. And
if any had been made, the {pirit of freedom
which prevails in the country would not
_ fuffer them to be obeyed. But though the
_ eatable birds have been diminifhed greatly,
yet there are others, which have rather in-
creafed than decreafeéd in number, fince the
arrival of the Europeans: this can moft
properly be faid of a fpecies of daws which
the Enghjh call Blackbirds * and the Swedes
Maize thieves, Dr. Linneus calls them Gra-
ee 2 cula.

* PROPERLY fhining blackbirds. —

292 November 1748.

cula Quiftula. And together with them,
the feveral forts of Sguzrrels among the qua-~
_ drupeds have fpread : for thefe and the for-
mer, live chiefly upon maize, or at leaft
they are moft greedy of it. But as popula-
tion increafes, the cultivation of maize in-
creafes, and of courfe the food of the above-
mentioned animals is more plentiful : to this
itis to be added, that thefe latter are rarely
eaten, and therefore they are more at liberty
to multiply their kind. There are likewife
cther birds which are not eaten, of which at —
prefent there are nearly as many as there
were before the arrival of the Europeans.
On the other hand I heard great com-
plaints of the great decreafe of eatable fowl,
not only in this province, but in all the parts
of North America, where I have been.
AcEp people had experienced that with
the fith, which I have juft mentioned of the
birds: in their youth, the bays, rivers, and
brooks, had fuch quantities of fifh that at
one draught in the morning, they caught
as many as a horfe was able to carry home..
But at prefent things are greatly altered ;
and they often work in vain all the night
long, with all their fifhing tackle. The
caufes of this decreafe of fith, are partly

the fame with thofe of the diminution of ~

the number of birds; being of late caught
by

Penfylvuania, Philadelphia. 293

by a greater variety of contrivances, and
in different manners than before. The nu-
merous mills on the rivers and brooks like-
wife contribute to it in part: for it has
been obferved here, that the fifh go up the
river in order to {pawn in a fhallow water ;
but when they meet with works that pre-
vent their proceeding, they turn back, and
never come again. Of this I was aflured by
a man of fortune at Boffon: his father
was ufed to catch a number of herrings
throughout the winter and almoft always in
_fummer, in ariver, upon his country feat :
but he having built a mill with a dyke in
this water, they were loft. In this man-
ner they complained here and every where
of the decreafe of fifh. Old people afferted
the fame in regard to oyfters at New York ;
for though theyare ftill taken in confiderable
quantity, and are as big and as delicious as
can be wifhed, yet all the oyfter-catchers
own, that the number diminifhes greatly
every year: the moft natural caufe of it, 1s
probably the immoderate catching of them
at all times of the year.

Mr. FRANKLIN told me that in that part
of New England, where his father lived,
two rivers fell into the fea, in one of which,
they caught great numbers of herring, and
in the othernotone. Yet the places where

3 thefe

294. November 1748.

thefe rivers difcharged themfelves into the
fea, were not far afunder. They had ob-
ferved that when the herrings came in {pring
to depofit their {pawn, they always fwam
up the river where they ufed to catch them,
but never came into the other. This cir-
cumftance led Mr. Frankiin’s father who —
was fettled between the two rivers, to try
whether it was not poffible to make the
herrings likewife live in the other river.
For that purpofe he put out his nets, as
they were coming up for fpawning, and he ©
caught fome. He took the {pawn out of
them, and carefully carried it acrofs the
land into the other river. “It was hatched,
and the confequence was, that every year
afterwards they caught more herrings in
that river; and this is ftill the cafe. This
leads one to believe that the fifh always
like to {pawn in the fame place where they
were hatched, and from whence they firft
put out to fea; being asit were accuftomed
to it.

Tue following is another peculiar obfer-
vation. It has never formerly been known
that codfith were to be caught at cape Hin-
lopen: they were always caught at the
mouth of the Delaware: but at prefent they
are numerous in the former place. From
\ hence it may be concluded that fith likewife

change

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 295

changs peor places of abode, of their own
accord.

A CAPTAIN of a fhip who had been in ©
Greenland, afferted from his own experi-
ence, that on pafling the feventieth deg.
of north lat. the fummer heat was there
much greater, than it is below that degree.
From hence he concluded, that the fum-
mer heat at the pole itfelf, muft be ftill
more excefflive, fince the fun fhines there
for fuch a long fpace of time, without ever
fetting. The fame account with fimilar
confequences drawn from thence, Mr.
Franklin had heard of the fhip captains in
Bojton, who had failed to the moft northern
parts of this hemifphere. But {till more
aftonifhing is the account he got from cap-
tain Henry Atkins, who ftill lives at Boffon. —
He had for fome time been upon the fith-
ery along the coafts of New England. But
not catching as much as he wifhed, he
failed north, asfaras Green/and. At lat he
went fo far, that he difcovered people, who
had never feen Europeans before (and what
is more aftonifhing) who had no idea of the
ufe of fire, which they had never employed ;
and if they had known it, they could have
made no ufe of their knowledge, as there
_ were no trees in the country. But they eat
the birds and fith which they caught quite

| Be raw.

296 November 1748.

raw. Captain Atkins got fome very fcarce
{kins in exchange for fome trifles.

Ir is already known from feveral ac-
counts of voyages, that to the northward
neither trees nor bufhes, nor any ligneous
plants are to be met with, fit for burning.
But is it not probable that the inhabitants
of fo defolate a country, like other northern
nations which we know, burn the train oil
of fifhes, and the fat of animals in lamps,
in order to boil their meat, to warm their
fubterraneous caves in winter, and to light
them in the darkeft feafon of the year? elfe
their darknefs would be infupportable.

November the 11th. In feveral writings
we read of a large animal, which is to be
met with in New England and other parts
of North America. ‘They fometimes dig
very long and branched horns out of the
ground in Ire/and, and no body in that |
country or any where elfe in the world,
knows an animal that has fuch horns. This
has induced many people to believe that
it is the Moofe-deer fo famous in North
America, and that the horns found, were
of animals of this kind, which had former-
ly lived in that ifland, but were gradually
deftroyed. It has even been concluded,
that Ire/and, in diftant ages either was con-
nected with North America, or that anum- |

ber

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 297

ber of little iflands, which are loft at pre-
fent, made achain between them. This
led me to enquire, whether an animal with
fuch exceffive great horns, as are afcribed
to the Moofe-deer, had ever been feen in
any part of this country. Mr. Bartram
told me, that notwithftanding he had care-
fully enquired to that purpofe, yet there
was no perfon who could give him any in-
formation, which could be relied upon,
and therefore he was entirely of opinion,
that there was no fuch an animal in North
America. Mr. Frankia related that he had,
when a boy, feen two of the animals which
they call Moofe-deer, but he well remembred
that they were not near of fuch a fize as
they mutt have been, if the horns found in
Ireland were to fit them: the two animals
which he faw, were brought to Boffon in
order to be fent to England to Queen
Ann. The height of the animal up to

the back was that of a pretty tall horfe;
om the head and its horns were (ftill high-
er: Mr. Dudley has given a defcription of
hi Moofe-deer which is found in North
America. On my travels in Canada, I of-
ten enquired of the Frenchmen, whether
there had ever been feen fo large an animal
in this country, as fome people fay there
asin North America; and with fuch great
horns

298 November 1748.

horns as are fometimes dug out in Ireland,
But I was always told, that they had never
heard of it, and much lefs feen it: fome
added, that if there was fuch an animal, they
certainly muft have met with it, in fome of
their excurfions in the woods. ‘There are
elks here, which are either of the fame
fort with the Swedi/b ones, or a variety of
them : of thefe they often catch fome which
are larger than common, whence perhaps
the report of the very large animal with ex-
ceflive horns in North America firft had its
rife. Thefe elks are called Original’s by
the French in Canada, which name they
have borrowed from the Indians: perhaps
Dudley, in defcribing the Moofe-deer, meant
no other animals, than thefe large elks.*
Mr. Franklin gave me a piece of a ftone,
which on account of its indeftructibility in
the fire, is made ufe of in New England for
making melting furnaces and forges.
It

* Wuar gives ftill more weight, to Mr. Ka/m’s opinion
of the Z/& being the Moofe-deer, is the name Mu/u which
the Algonkins give to the elk, as Mr. Ka/m himfelf obferves
in the fequel of his work ; and this circumftance is the more
remarkable, as the d/gonkins before the Lrokee/e or five nati-
ons got fo great a power in America, were the moft powerful
nation in the northern part of this continent; in fo much,
that though they be now reduced to an inconfiderable num-
ber, their language is however a kind of univerfal language
in North America; fo that there is no doubt,. that the elk 1s

« the famous Mao/e-deer. F.

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 209

Ir confifts of a mixture of Lapis Ol/aris
or Serpentine ftone, and of Abe. The
gréateft part of it is a grey Serpentine
ftone, which is fat and {mooth to the touch,

and is eafily cut and worked. Here and a

there are fome glittering fpeckles of that
fort of afbeft, whofe fibres come from a
center like rays, or Star Afbef. This ftone
is not found in ftrata or folid rocks, but

here and there {cattered on the fields.
ANOTHER ftone is called Soap/fone by
many of the Swedes, being as {mooth as
foap on the outfide. They make ufe of it
for rubbing fpots out of their cloaths.
It might be called Saxum tal ‘cofum parti-
; culus fpatacets, granat i/que 1mmIxXtts, ora
talc with mixed particles of {par and gar-
nets. A more exact defcription I referve
for another work. At prefent I only add
that the ground colour is pale green, with
‘fome dark fpots, and fometimes a few of a
ereenifh hue. It is very fmooth to the
touch, and runs always waved. It is like-
wife eafily fawed and cut, though it is not
very fmooth. Ihave feen large {tones of it,
which were a fathom and more long, pro-
portionably broad, and commonly fix inches
or afootdeep. But I cannot determine any
thing of their original fize, as I have not been
at the place hore they are dug, and have
only

300 November 1748.

only feen the ftones at Philadelphia, which
are brought there ready cut. The particles
of talc in this {tone are about thirty times
as many as thofe of {par and garnet. | It is
found in many parts of the country, for
example in the neighbourhood of Chefer in
Penfyluama. The Enghjh likewife call it
Soapftone,* and it is likely that the Swedes
have borrowed that name from them.

Tuts ftone was chiefly employed in the
following manner. Firft, the people took
{pots out of their cloaths with it. But for
this purpofe the whole ftone is not equally
ufeful, for it includes in its clear particles
fome dark ones which confift wholly of fer-
pentine ftone, and may eafily be cut witha
knife ; fome of the loofe ftone is {craped off
like a powder, and ftrewed upon a greafy
fpot, in filk or any other ftuff; this im-
bibes the greafe, and after rubbing off the
powder the {pot difappears: and as this ftone
is likewife very durable in the fire, the
country people make their hearths with it,
efpecially the place where the fire lies, and
where the heat is the greateft, for the ftone

{tands

* Tr feems to be either the fubftance commonly called
French Chalk, or perhaps the Soap-rock, which is-common in
Cornwall near the Lizard point, and which confiftssbefides of
fome particles of talc, chiefly of an earth like magnefia, —
which latter with acid of vitriol, yields an earthy vitriolic
falt, or Ep/om Jalt. F.

Penfyloania, Philadelphia. 301

ftands the ftrongeft fire. If the people
can get a fufficient quantity of this ftone,
they lay the fteps before the houfes with it,
inftead of bricks, which are generally ufed
for that purpofe.

Tue walls round the court yards, gar-
dens, burying places, and thofe for the
floping cellar doors towards the ftreet,
which are all commonly built of brick, are
covered with a coping of this ftone; for it
holds excellently againft all the effects of
the fun, air, rain and ftorm, and does not
decay but fecures the bricks. On account
of this quality, people commonly get the
door pofts in which their hinges are faften-
ed made of this ftone: and in feveral pub-
lick buildings, fuch as the houfe of af-
fembly for the province, the whole lower
wall is built of it, and in other houfes the
corners are laid out with it.

Tue Salt which is ufed in the Englith
North American colonies is brought from
the Weft Indies. ‘The Indians have in fome
places falt fprings from which they get falt
by boiling. I fhall in the fequel have oc-
cafion to defcribe fome of them. Mr.
Franklin was of opinion that the people in
Penfylvania could eafier make good falt of
fea water, than in New England, where
fometimes falt is made of the fea water on

their

302 November 1748.

; me
their coaft ; though their fituation is more
northerly. Lead-ore has been difcovered in

\ Penfylvania, but as it is not to be met

' with in quantity, no body ever attempted to
ufe it. Loadjiones of confiderable goodnefs
have likewife been found; and I omyfelf —
_ pofiefs feveral pretty pieces of them.

IRon is dug in fuch great quantities in
Penfylvania and in the other American pro-
vinces of the Englj/b, that they could
provide with that commodity not only
England, but almoft all Europe, and per- —
haps the greater part of the globe. The
ore is here commonly infinitely eafier got
in the mines, than our Swedi/b ore. For in
many places with a pick ax, a crow-foot and
a wooden club, it is got with the fame eafe
with whicha hole can be made ina hard foil:
in many places the people know nothing of
boring, blafting and firing; and the ore is
likewife very fulible. Of this iron they get
fuch quantities, that not only:the numerous
inhabitants of the colonies themfelves have
enough of it, but great quantities, are fent
to the Weft Indies, and they have lately be-
gan even to trade to Europe with it. This
iron is reckoned better for fhip building
than our Swedj/b iron, or any other, becaufe
falt water does not corrode it fo much.
Some people believed that without reckon-

. ing

Penfjlvania. Philadelphia. 302

ing the freight, they could fell their iron
in England at a lower rate than any other
nation; efpecially when the country be-

comes better peopled and labour cheaper.
Tue mountain flax,* or that kind of
ftone, which Bifhop Browallius calls Ami-
antus fibris feparabihous molliufculs, in his
leGtures on mineralogy which were pub-_
lifhed in 1739, or the amiant with foft fibres
which can eafily be feparated, is found a-
bundantly in Penfylvania. Some pieces are
very foft, others pretty tough: Mr. Frank-
lin told me that twenty and fome odd years
ago, when he made a voyage to England,
he had a little purfe with him, made of
the mountain flax of this country, which
he prefented to Sir Hans Sloane. I have
likewile feen paper made of this ftone: and
I have likewife received fome {mall pieces
of it, which I keep in my cabinet. Mr.
Frankiin had been told by others that on
expofing this mountain flax to the open
air in winter, and leaving it in the cold and
wet, it would grow together, and more fit
for fpinning. But he did not venture to
deter-

© Amiantas ( Afbeftus) fibrofus, fibris feparabilibus flexili-
bus tenacibus, Linn. Sy/?. nat. p. 55.

Amiantus fibris mollibus parallelis facile feparabilibus,
Wall. Min. 140.

Mountain Flax, Linum montanum, Fovfter’s Mineralogy,
p- 17. F,

304. November 1748.

determine how far this opinion was ground~
ed. On this occafion she related a very
pleafant accident, which happened to him
with this mountain flax: he had; feveral
years ago, got a piece of it, which he gave
to one of his journeymen printers, in order
to get it made into a {heet at the paper mill.
As foon as the fellow brought the paper,
Mr. Franklin rolled it up, and threw it in-
to the fire, telling the journeyman he would
fee a miracle, a fheet of paper which did
not burn: the ignorant fellow afferted the —
contrary, but was greatly aftonifhed, upon
feeing himfelf convinced. Mr. Franklin
then explained him, though not very clear-
ly, the peculiar qualities of the paper. As
foon as he was gone, fome of his acquaint-
ance came in, who immediately knew the
paper. The journeyman thought he would
fhew them a great curiofity and aftonifh
them. He accordingly told them that he
had curioufly made a fheet of paper, which
would not burn, though it was thrown in-
to the fire. They pretended to think it
impofflible, and he as ftrenuoufly maintain-
ed his affertion. At laft they laid a wager
about it; but whilft he was bufy with ftir-
ring up the fire, the others flyly befmeared
the paper with fat: the journeyman, who ©
was not aware of it, threw it into the eS
| an

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. oe

and that moment it was all in flames: this
aftonifhed him fo much, that he was almoft
fpeechlefs ; upon which they could not help
laughing, and fo difcovered the whole arti-
fice.

In feveral houfes of the town, a number
of little 4vts run about, living under ground
and in holes in the wall. The length of
their bodies is one geometrical line. Their
colour is either black or dark red: they
have the cuftom of carrying off {weet things,
if they can come at them, in common with
the ants of other countries. Mr. Franklin
was much inclined to believe that thefe lit-
tle infects could by fome means commu-
nicate their thoughts or defires to each
other, and he confirmed his opinion by fome /
examples. When an ant finds fome fugar,
it runs immediately under ground to its
hole, where having ftayed a little while,
a whole army comes out, unites and march-
es to the place where the fugar is, and
carries it off by pieces: or if an ant meets
with a dead fly, which it cannot carry
alone, it immediately haftens home, and
foon after fome more come out, creep to
the fly and carry it away. Some time ago
Mc. Frankhn put a little earthen pot with
| treacle intoaclofet. A number of ants got
into the. pot, and devoured the treacle very

quietly.

306 November 1748.

quitely. But as he obferved it he fhook ther
out, and tied the pot with a thin ftring toa
nail which he had faftenedin the ceiling; fo

that the pot hung down by the ftring. A

fingle ant by chance remained in the pot:

this ant eat till it was fatished; but when

it wanted to get off, it was'under great con-

cern to find its way out: it ran about the
bottom of the pot, but in vain: at laft it

_ found after many attempts the way to get

to the ceiling by the firing. After it was

come there, it ran to the wall, and from —
thence to the ground. It had hardly been

away for half an hour, when a great fwarm

of ants came out, got up to the ceiling,
and crept along the ftring into the pot,

and began to eat again: this they continued

till the treacle was all eaten: in the mean

time one fwarm running down the ftring,

and the other up.

November the 12th. A MAN of fortune
who has long been in this province afferted,
that, by twenty years experience, he had
found a confirmation of what other people.
have obferved with regard to the weather,
viz. that the weather in winter was com-
monly foretold by that on the firft of No-
vember, old ftile, or twelfth new ftile; if
that whole day be fair, the next winter
will bring but little rain and fnow along

with

_ Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 307
with it: but if the firft half of the day be

clear, and the other cloudy, the beginning
of winter would accordingly be fair, but its
end and fpring would turn out rigorous and
difagreeable: of the fame kind were the
other prefages. I have hkewife in other
places heard of fimilar figns of the weather ;
but as a mature judgment greatly leffens the
confidence in them, fo the meteorological
obfervations have fufficiently fhewn, how
infinitely often thefe prophecies have failed.
PENSYLVANIA abounds in fprings, and
you commonly meet with a fpring of clear
water on one or the other, and fometimes
on feveral fides of a mountain. The people
near fuch {prings, ufe them for every purpofe
of a fine {pring water. They alfo condu&
the water into a little ftone building near
the houfe, where they can confine it, and
_ bring freth fupplies at pleafure. In fummer
they place their milk, bottles of wine and
other liquors in this building, where they
keep cool and frefh. In many country
houfes, the kitchen or buttery was fo fitu-
ated, that a rivulet ran under it, and had
the water near at hand. | |
Nor only people of fortune, but even’

others that had fome poffeffions, common-
ly had fith ponds in the country near their
houfes: They always took care that freth
U2 water

308 ~ November 1748.

water might run into their ponds, whichis
very falutary for the fifth: for that purpofe
the ponds were placed near a {pring on a
hil. ;
November the 13th. I saw in feveral
parts of this province a ready method of ~
getting plenty of grafs to grow in the mea- —
dows. Here muft be remembered what I
have before mentioned about the fprings,
which are fometimes found on the fides of
hills and fometimes in vallies. The mea-
dows lie commonly in the vallies between
the hills : if they are too {wampy and wet,
the water is carried off by feveral ditches.
But the fummer in Penfylvania is very hot;
and the fun often burns the grafs fo much,
that it dries up entirely. The hufbandmen
therefore have been very attentive to pre-
vent this in their meadows: to that pur- —
pofe they look for all the fprings in the
neighbourhood of a meadow; and as the
rivulets flowed before by the fhorteit way
into. the vallies, they raife the water as
much as poffible and neceffary, to the
higher part of the meadow, and make feve-
ral narrow channels from the brook, down
into the plain, fo that it 1s entirely wa-
tered by it. ' When there are fome deep-
er places, they frequently lay wooden gut-
ters acrofs them, through which the water |

— flows |

Penfylvania, near Germantown. 309

flows to the other fide; and from thence
it is again by very narrow channels car-
ried to all the places where it feems ne-
ceflary. To raife the water the higher, and
in order to {pread it more, there are high
dykes built near the {prings, between which
the water rifes till it is fo high as to run
down where the people want it. Induf-
try and ingenuity went further: when a
brook runs in a wood, with a direétion not
towards the meadow, and it has been found
by levelling, and taking an exa& furvey of
the Jand between the meadow and the ri-
vulet, that the latter can be conducted
towards the former; a dyke is made,
which hems the courfe of the brook,
and the water is led round the meadow
over many hills, fometimes for the {pace of

an Engh/h mile and further, partly acrofs

_ vallies in wooden pipes, till at laft it is

brought where it is wanted, and where
it can be {pread as above-mentioned. One
that has not feen it himfelf, cannot believe
how great\a quantity of grafs there is in
fuch meadows, efpecially near the little
channels; whilft others, which have not
been thus managed look wretchedly. The
meadows commonly lie inthe vallies, and
one or more of their fides have a declivity.
The water can therefore eafily be brought to

U2 run

- a
4 NY =
* Pits,

310 November 1748

run down in them. Thefe meadows which
are fo carefully watered, are commonly —
mowed three times every fummer. But it
is likewife to be obferved, that fummer
continues feven months here. The inha-
bitants feldom fail to employ a brook or
{pring in this manner, if it is not too far
from the meadows to be led to them.

Tue leaves were at prefent fallen from
all the trees; both from oaks, and from all
thofe which have deciduous leaves, and
they covered the ground in the woods fix —
inches deep. The great quantity of leaves
which drop annually, would neceffarily feem
to encreafe the upper black mould greatly.
However, it is not above three or four
inches thick in the woods, and under it lays
a brick coloured clay, mixed with a fand of
the fame colour. It is remarkable, that a
foil which in all probability has not been
ftirred, fhould be covered with fo little
black mould: but I fhall {peak of this in
the fequel.

November the rath. Tue Squirrels which

run about plentifully in the woods are of
different fpecies; I here intend to defcribe
the moft common forts, more accurately.
Tue grey Squirrels are very plentiful in
Penfylvania and in the other proyinces of
North America. Their fhape correfponds |

with

Penfylvania, near Germantown. 311

with that of our Swedi/b {quirrel ; but they _
differ from them, by keeping their grey
colour all the year long, and in fize being
fomething bigger. The woods in all thete
provinces, and chiefly in Pen/ylvania, con-
fit of trees with deciduous leaves, and in
fuch thefe fquirrels like to live. Ray in his
Synopfis Quadrupedum, p. 215, and Catefby
in his Natural Hiftory of Carolina, Voi. 2.
p. 74, tab. 74, callit the Virginian greater
grey Squirrel; and the latter has added a
- figure after life. The Swedes call it grao
Ichorn, which is the fame as the Englith
grey Squirrel. Their nefts are commonly
in hollow trees, and are made of mofs,
ftraw, and other foft things: their food is
chiefly nuts; as hazel nuts, chinquapins,
-chefnuts, walnuts, hiccory nuts, and the
acorns of the different forts of oak which
grow here; but maize is what they are
moft greedy of. The ground in the woods
is in autumn covered with acorns, and all
kinds of nuts which drop from the nume-
rous trees; of thefe the fquirrels gather
_ great ftores for winter, which they lay up
in holes dug by them for that purpofe ;
they likewife carry a great quantity of them
into their nefts.
As foon as winter comes, the fnow
and cold confines them to their holes
| U4 for

512 November 1748.

holes for feveral days, efpecially when the
weather is very rough. During this time
they confume the little ftore, which they ©
have brought to their nefts : as foon there-
fore as the weather grows milder, they
creep out, and dig out part of the ftore
which they have laid up in the ground: of
this they eat fome on the fpot, and carry
the ref{t into their nefts on the trees. We
frequently obferved that in winter, at the
eve of a great froft, when there had been
fome temperate weather, the fquirrels, a
day or two before the froft, ran about the
woods in greater numbers than common,
partly in order tofeat their fill, and partly
to ftore their nefts with a new proviffon for
the enfuing great cold, during which they |
did not venture to come out, but lay fnug
in their nefts: therefore feeing them run in
the woods in greater numbers than ordina-
ry, was a fafe prognoftic of an enfuing cold.
Tue 4ogs which are here droven into the
woods, whilit there is yet no fnow in them,
often do confiderable damage to the poor
{quirrels, by rooting up their ftore-holes,
and robbing their winter provifions. Both
the Indians, and the European Americans,
take great pains to find out thefe ftore-
holes, whether in trees or in the ground,
as all the nuts they contain are choice, and
; not

Penfylvania, near Germantown. 313 ©

not only quite ripe, but likewife not pierc-
ed by worms. ‘The nuts and acorns which
the Dormice, or Mus Cricetus, Linn. tore
up in autumn, are all in the fame conditi-
on. The Swedes relate, that in the long
winter, which happened here in the year
1741, there fell fuch a quantity of f{now,
that the fquirrels could not get to their
ftore, and many of them were ftarved to
death.

Tue damage which thefe animals do in
the maize fields, I have already defcribed :
_ they do the more harm, as they do not eat
all the corn, but only the inner and {weet

part, and as it were take off the hufks. In
{pring towards the end of ri/, when the
oaks were in full flower, I once obferved a
number of {quitrels on them, fometimes
five, fix, or more in a tree, who bit off the
_ flower ftalks a little below the flowers, and
dropt them on the ground: whether they
eat any thing off them, or made ufe of them
for fome other purpofe I know not: but
‘the ground was quite covered with oak
flowers, to which part of the ftalk adhered.
For this reafon the oaks do not bear fo
much fruit by far, to feed hogs and other
animals, as they would otherwife do.

Or all the wild animals in this country,
the fquirrels are forme of the eafieft to tame,

efpecially

314 November 174.

efpecially when they are taken young for
that purpofe. I have feen them tamed fo
far, that they would follow the boys into
the woods and run about every where, and
when tired would fit on their fhoulders.
Sometimes they only ran a little way into
the wood, and then returned home again
to the little hole that had been fitted up for
them. When they eat, they fit almoft up-
right, hold their food between their fore-
feet and their tail bent upwards. When ©
the tame ones got more than they could _
eat at a time, they carried the remainder to
their habitations, and hid it amongft the
wool which they lay upon. Such tame |
{quirrels fhewed no fear of ftrangers, and
would fuffer themfelves to be touched by
every body, without offering to bite, They
fometimes would leap upon ftranger’s
cloaths and lie ftill on them, in order to
fleep. In the farm houfes where they were
kept, they played with cats and dogs: they

ok likewife eat bread.

Tue wild grey fquirrels likewife hold up
their tails when fitting. As foon as they
perceive a man, they continually wag their
tails and begin to gnafh with their teeth, and
make a great noife, which they do not rea-
dily give over. Thofe who go a fhooting
birds and other animals, are therefore very

angry

Penfylvanid, near Germantown. 315

angry at them, as this noife difcovers them,
- and alarms the game. Though a grey
{quirrel does not feem to be very fhy, yetit
is very difficult to kill; for when it per-
ceives a man, it climbs upon a tree, and
commonly chufes the higheft about it. It
then tries to hide itfelf behind the trunk,
fo that the fhooter may not fee it, and
though he goes ever {fo faft round the tree,
yet the {quirrel changes its place as quick-
ly, if not quicker: if two boughs bend to-
wards each other, the fquirrel lies in the
middle of them, and preffes itfelf fo clofe,
that it is hardly vifible. You may then
- fhake the tree, throw fticks and ftones to
the place where it lies, or-fhoot at it, yet
it will never ftir. Ifthree branches join, it
takes refuge between them, and lies as
clofe to them as poffible, and then it is fuf-
ficiently fafe. Sometimes it efcapes on a
tree where there are old nefts of {quirrels, or
of large birds: it flips into fuch, and can-
not be got out, either by fhooting, throw-
ing, or any thing elfe; for the grey {quir-
tels feldom leap from one tree to ano-
ther, except extreme danger compels them.
They commonly run dire@ily up the trees
and down the fame way, with their head
ftraight forward. Several of them which

I fhot

316 November 1748.

I fhot in the woods, had great numbers of
fleas. |
I HAve already mentioned that thefe
{quirrels are among the animals, which at
prefent are more plentiful than they for-
merly were, and that the infinitely greater
cultivation of maize, which is their favou-
rite food, is the caufe of their multiplica-
tion. However it is peculiar, that in fome
years a greater number of fquirrels come
down from the higher countries into Pen-
Sylvania, and other Exgh/b colonies. They —
commonly come in autumn, and are then
very bufy in the woods gathering nuts and
acorns, which they carry into hollow trees
or their ftore-holes, in order to be fuffici-
ently provided with food for winter. They
are fo diligent in ftoring up of provifions,
that though the nuts have been extremely |
plentiful that year, yet it is difficult to get
a confiderable quantity of them. The peo-
ple here pretended from their own experi-
ence to know, that when the {quirrels came
down in fuch numbers from the higher parts
of the country, the winter enfuing was un- |
commonly rigorous and cold, and for that
reafon they always look upon their coming
down, as a fure fign of fuch a winter. Yet
this does not always prove true, as I experi-
enced in the autumn of the year 1749: at that

time

Penfylvania, near ‘Germantown. 317

time a great numberof fquirrels came down
into the colonies, yet the winter was very
mild and nocolder than common. But it ap-
peared that their migration was occafioned
by the fearcity of nuts and acorns, which
happened that year in the higher parts of
the country, and obliged them to come
hither for their food. Therefore they ge-
nerally return the next year to the place
from which they came.

SoME people reckon {quirrel flefh a great
dainty, but the generality make no account
of it. The fkin is good for little, yet {mall
firaps are fometimes made of it, asit is very
tough: others ufe it as a furr lining, for
want of a better. Ladies fhoes are like-
_wife fometimes made of it.

Tue Rattle fnake often devours the
{quirrels, notwithftanding all their agi-
lity. This unwieldy creature, is faid to
catch fo agile an one, merely by fafcination,
_I have never had an opportunity of feeing
how it is done: but fo many credible peo-
ple affured me of the truth of the fact, and
afferted that they were prefent, and paid
peculiar attention to it, that I am almoft
forced to believe their unanimous accounts.
The fafcination is effected in the following
manner: the {nake lies at the bottom of
the tree upon which the {quirrel fits; its

eyes

318 November 1784.

eyes are fixed upon the’ little animal, and
from that moment it cannot efcape; it be-
gins a doleful outcry, which is fo welk
known, that a perfon pafiing by, on hear-—
ing it, immediately knows that it is charm-
ed by a fnake. The fquirrel runs up the —
tree a little way, comes downwards again,
then goes up, and now comes lower again.
On that occafion it has been obferved, that.
the fquirrel always goes down more than
it goes up. The fnake ftill continues at
the root of the tree, with its eyes fixed on
the fquirrel, with which its attention is fo
entirely taken up, that a perfon accidental-
ly approaching, may make a confiderable
noife, without the fnake’s fo much as turn-
ing about. The {fquirrel as before-men-
tioned comes always lower, and at laft leaps
down to the {nake, whofe mouth is already
wide open for its reception. The poor lit-
tle animal then with a piteous cry runs in-—
to the fnake’s jaws, and is fwallowed at
once, if it be not too big; but if its fize
will not allow it to be fwallowed at once,
the fnake. licks it feveral times with its
tongue, and fmoothens it, and by that
means makes it fit for fwallowing. Every
thing elfe remarkable at this enchantment,
I have defcribed in a treatife inferted in the
Memoirs of the Royal Swedifa Academy of
| NCLENCES »

Penfylvania, near Germantown. 319

Sciences, im the Volume for the year 1753,
1 therefore am not fo circumftantial here.
The fame power of enchanting is afcribed
to that kind of fnake, which is commonly
called the black /nake in America, and it 1s
faid to catch and devour fquirrels in the
fame manner as the former.*

' Bur thefe little animals do confiderable
damage to the maize, not only whilft it is
upon the ftalk, as I have before obferved,
but even when it is brought home into the
barns: for if they can come at it without
any obftacle, they can in a few nights bring
a whole bufhel away into their lurking
holes. The government in moft of the
North American colonies, has therefore
been obliged to offer a certain premium, to
be paid out of the common treafury, for the
head of a fquirre}. It feems inconceivable
what a fum of money has been paid for
grey and black fquirrel’s heads, in the pro-

vince

* Ir has been obferved, that only fuch fquirrels and birds
as have their nefts near the place where fuch fnakes come.to,
make this pitiful noife, and are fo bufy in running up and
_ down the tree and the neighbouring branches, in order to
draw off the attention of the fnake from their brood, and of-
ten they come fo very near in order to fly away again, that
being within reach of the fnakes, they are at laft bit, poi-
foned and devoured; and this will, I believe, perfectly
account for the powers of fafcinating birds and {mall creatures
in the fnakes. F.

320 November 1748.

vince of Penfylvania only, from the firft of
Ffanuary 1749, to the firft of ‘fanuary 17505
for when the deputies from the feveral dif-
tricts of the province met, in order to deli-
berate upon the affairs of the province,
each of them complained that their treafu-
ries were exhaufted by paying fo much for
{quirrels : for at that time the law had ap-
pointed a reward of three-pence for each ©
{quirrel’s head. So far extended the ven- —
geance taken upon thefe little creatures,
1. e. upon the grey and black fquirrels. It
was found, by cafting up accounts, ‘that in
that one year eight thoufand pounds of Pen-
fylvania currency, had been expended in ©
paying thefe rewards: this I was affured of
by a man who had looked over the accounts
himfelf.

-Many people, efpecially young men,
left all other employment, and went into
the woods to fhoot fquirrels: but the go-
vernment having experienced how much ~
three-pence per head took out of the trea-
fury, fettled half that fum upon each fquir-_—
rel’s head. :

FiyinG SQUIRRELS are a peculiar kind,
which feem to be the fame with thofe which
inhabit Finland, and which Dr. Linnaeus
in his Fauna Svecica, No. 38. calls Sezurus
volans. The American flying {quirrel at the

utmoft

Penfylvamia, near Germantown. 321

utmoft is only a variety of that which we
have in Finland. Catefby in his Natural
Hiftory of Carohna, Voki 2, op. 176311977,
has defcribed it, and tab. 76, 77, drawn
it after life. He likewife calls ‘it Sciurus
volans. Edwards in his Natural Hiflory
of Birds reprefents it, t. 191. They are
met with in the woods, but not very
frequently. They are fcarce ever feen in.
the day time, unlefs they are forced out by
men who have difcovered their nefts: for
_ they fleep in the day time, but as foon as
it grows dark, they come out and run about
~ almoft all night. They live in hollow trees,
and by cutting one down, feven or more
flying {quirrels are frequently found in it.
By the additional fkin with which Provi-
dence has provided them on both fides,
they can fly from one tree toanother. They
expand their fkins like wings, and contract
them again as foon as they can get hold of
the oppofite tree. Some people fay that
they fly in a horizontal line; but others af-
ferted that they firft went a little down-
wards, and then rofe up again, when
they approached the tree to which they
would fly: they cannot fly further than
four or five fathoms. Among all the fquir-
rels in this country, thefe are the moft ea-
fily tamed. The boys carry them to fchool,
| x. or

R22 November 1748.

~~

or wherever they go, without their ever at-
tempting to efcape: if even they. put their
{quirrel afide, it leaps upon them again im-
mediately, creeps either into their bofom,
or their fleeve, or any fold of the clothes,
and lies down to fleep: its food is the fame
with that of the grey fquirrel.

THERE is a imall {pecies of {quirrels
abounding in the woods, which the Engli/h
call ground Squirrels. Catef/by has defcribed
and drawn them from life, in the 2d. Vol.
of his Natural Hiftory of Carolina, p. 75,
tab. 75, and Edwards in his Natural Hi/-
tory of Birds, t. y31.* He and Dr. Lz-
neus call it Sciurus ftriatus, or the ftreaked
Sguirrel. ‘Thefe do not properly live in
trees, as others of this genus, but dig holes
in the ground (much in the*fame manner
as rabbets) in which they live, and whither
they take refuge when they perceive any
danger. Their holes go deep, and com-
monly further inwards divide into many
branches. They are alfo cunning enough

to

* As Catefby and Edwards have both reprefented the fying
Squirrel in a iitting attitude, I have given here, plate I a fi-
gure of one with the expanded membrane, and joined to it on
the fame plate, a more accurate figure of the ground Squirrel.
__ Ir is not yet made out with certainty, whether the dmeri-
can flying fquirrel, and that found in Finland and ‘in the ~
north of Exrope and Afa, be the fame animal. — The Ameri- —
ean kind has a flat pennated tail, but the European kind a

round one, which affords a very dilftinguifhing character. F.

7

ee

FLYING Saquir REL

cu

\)

\\
\\

Z

x

Usssiien
by

Uf
Uy

Penfylvania, near Germantown. 32 3

to make fometimes an opening or hole to
the furface of the ground from one of thefe
branches. The advantage they have from
hence, is that when they ftroll about for
food, and the hole is ftopt up through
which they went out, they may not expofe
themielves to be caught, but prefently find
the other hole, into which they may re-
treat: but in autumn, when the leaves fall
from the trees, or fometime after, it is di-
verfion to fee the confternation they are
fometimes in when purfued ; for their holes
being eafily covered with the great fall of
leaves, or by the wind, they have a great -
deal to do, to find them on a fudden: they
then run backwards and forwards, as if
they had loft their way: they feem to know
the places where they have made their fub-
terraneous walks, but cannot conceive where
_ the entrances are. If they be then purfued,
and one claps his hands, they know no
other refuge than that of climbing upon a
tree; for it is to be obferved that thefe
{quirrels always live under ground, and ne-
ver climb upon trees unlefs purfued, and
unable in the hurry to find their holes.
This kind of fquirrels is much more nume-
rous in Penfylvania, than in any other pro-
vince of North America through which I
have travelled. Its-length is commonly fix
xX 2 inches,

324 November 1748.

inches, without the curved tail; and it i$ ©
very narrow. The fkin is ferruginous, or
of a reddifh brown, and marked with five
black ftreaks, one of which runs along the
back, and two on each fide. Their food
confifts of all forts of corn, as rye, barley,
wheat, maize, and of acorns, nuts, &c.
They gather their winter provifions in au-
tumn, like the common grey fquirrels, and ©
keep them in their holes under ground. If —
they get into a granary, they do as much
mifchief as mice and rats. It has often
been obferved that if, after eating rye, —
they come to fome wheat, they throw up
the former, which they do not like fo well
as the wheat, in order to fill their belly
with the latter. When the maize is
reaped in the fields, they are very bufy in
biting off the ears, and filling the pouches
in their mouth with corn, fo that their
cheeks are quite blown up. With this —
booty they haften into the holes which they
have made in the ground. |
As a Swede was making a mill-dyke, pret- —
ty late in autumn, he employed for that —
purpofe the foil of a neighbouring hill,
and met with a hole on a fubterraneous
walk belonging to thefe fquirrels: he
followed it for fome, time, and difcover-
ed a walk on one fide like a branch, parting —
from the chief ftem: it was near two feet
long,

Penfylvania, near Germantown. 325

long, and at its end was a quantity of
choice acorns of the white oak, which the
little careful animal had ftored up for win-
ter. Soon after he found another walk on
the fide like the former, but containing a
fine ftore of maize: the next had hiccory
nuts, and the laft and moft hidden one con-
tained fome excellent chefnuts, which
_ might have filled two hats. |
In winter thefe fquirrels are feldom feen,
for during that feafon they live in their
fubterraneous: holes upon the provifions,
which they have ftored up there. How-
ever on a very fine and clear day they fome-
times come out. They frequently dig through
the ground, into cellars in which the coun-
try people lay up their apples, which they
partly eat, and partly {poil, fo that the
mafter has little or nothing left. They
handle the maize ftores full as roughly as
the apples. But the cats are their great
enemies, who devour them and bring them
home to their young ones: their flefh is
not eaten by men, and their {kin is not
made ufe of.

Or all the fquirrels in the country, thefe
are the moft difficult to be tamed; for,
though they be caught very young, yet it
is dangerous to touch them with naked |
elag as they bite very fharp when one is

X 3 not

326 November 1748.

not aware of them. Many boys, who had
loft a deal of time in trying to tame thefe
{quirrels, owned that they knew of no art
to make them quite tame; at leaft they are
never fo far tamed as the other fpecies. In
order to do any thing towards taming them
they muft be caught when ‘they are. very
fmall. Some people kept them in that ftate

in a cage, becaute they looked 'very pretty.
. Tsuatt take an other opportunity of
{peaking of the black and ferruginous fquir-

rels, which likewife inhabit this country.
November the 15th. In the morning I
returned to Philadelphia. Mr. Cock told
me to day, and on fome other occafions af-
terwards, an accident which happed to him,
and which {eemed greatly to confirm a pe-
culiar fign of an imminent hurricane. He
failed to the Weft Indies in a {mall yacht,
and had an old man on board, who had for
a confiderable time failed in this fea. The
old man founding the depth, called to the
mate to tell Mr. Cock to launch the boats —
immediately, and to put a fufficient num-
ber of men into them, in order to tow the
yacht during the calm, that they might
reach the ifland before them, as foon as
poflible, as within twenty-four hours there
would be a ftrong hurricane. Mr. Cock
afked him what reafons he had to think fo,
the

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 327

the old man replied, that on founding, he
faw the lead in the water ata diftance of
many fathoms more than he had feen it be-
fore ; that therefore the water was become
clear all of a fudden, which he looked up-
on as a cértain fign of an impending hur-
ricane in the fea. Mr. Cock likewile faw
the exceflive clearnefs of the water.’ He
therefore gave immediate orders for launch-
ing the boat, and towing the yacht, ‘'{o that
they arrived before night in a fafe harbour.
But before they had quite reached it the
waves began to rife more and more, and
the water was as it were boiling, though
no wind was perceptible. In the enfuing
night the hurricane came on, and ‘raged
with fuch violence, that not only many
hips were loft, and the roofs were torn off
from the houfes, but even Mr. Cock’s yacht
and other fhips, though they were in fafe
harbours, were by the wind, and the vio-
lence of the fea, wafhed fo far on fhore,
that feveral weeks elapfed, before they could
be got off. -- | 7 ry
An old Dutch fkipper faid, that he had
once caught a dogfifh in the bay of New
York, which being cut open, had a quan-

tity of eels in his ftomach.
November the 18th. Mr. Bartram thewed
me an earthen pot, which had been found
X 4 in

328 November 1 74.8.

in a place, where the Indians formerly liv=
ed. He, who firft dug it out, kept greafe
and fat in it to fmear his thoes, boots and
all. forts of leather with: Mr. Bartram
bought the pot of that man; it was yet
entire and not damaged : I could perceive
nO glaze or colour uponit, but on the out-
fide it was yery much ornamented and up-
on the whole well made... Mr. Bartram
fhewed me feveral pieces of broken earthen
veffels which the Indians formerly made ufe.
of. It plainly appeared in all thefe that
they were not made of mere clay ; ; but that
different materials had been mixed with it,
according to the nature of the places where
they were made.. Thofe Jndiaus, for exam-
ple, who lived near the fea fhore, pounded }
the thells of {nails and mufcles, and mixed
them with the clay. Others. who lived
further up in the country, where mountain
cryftals could be found, pounded them and
mixed them with their clay ; but. how they
proceeded i in making the veffels, is entirely
unknown: it was plain, that they did not
burn them much, for they were fo {oft
that they might be cut in pieces with a
knife: the workmanthip however feems to
have been very good; for at prefent they
find whole veffels or pieces in the ground,
which are not damaged at all, though they
have

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 329

have lain in the ground above a century.
Before the Europeans fettled in North Ame-
rica, the Indians had no other vefiels to
boil their meat in, than thefe earthen pots
of their own making: -but fince their arri-
val, they have always. bought pots,: kettles,
and other neceflary veffels of the Europeans,
and take no longer the pains of making
fome, by which..means this art is entirely.
lofttamong them. Such veffels of their own
conftruction are therefore a great rarity even,
among the Indians. 1 have feen fuch old
pots and pieces of them, confifting of.a kind
of Serpentine ftone, or Linneus’s Talcum,

Syft. Nite Z- Pr 52>

Mr. Bartram likewife fhewed me little ae
pieces of a black flate, which is plentifully “>

found in fome parts of the river SkulJézll.
There are pieces to be found, which are
four feet and above fquare: the colour and
configuration is the fame as in the Tadle
fate (Schijius tabularis, Linn.) Syf. nat. 3.
p- 37- except that this is a little thicker.
The inhabitants of the country thereabouts
(in the neighbourhood of the Sku//ill) cover
their roofs with it; Mr. Bartram affured \

me, that he had feen a whole roof com- “\

pofed of four fuch flates. The rays of the
- fun, heat, cold, and rain do not act upon
the ftone.

Mr.

330 ~ November 1748.

Mr. Bartram further related, that in’ fe-
veral parts of the country, caves or holes
were to be met with, going deep into the

\. mountains : he had been in feveral of them

and had often found a number of Stalaétites,
Linnaeus’s Stalaétites ftillatitius, Sytt. nat. 3.
p- 183. of different dimenfions at the top;
they differed in colour, but the greateft
curiofity was, that in fome of the caves
Mr. Bartram had found Stalaétites, whofe
outward fide was as it were wreathed from
top to bottom ; he had fent fome pieces of

it to London, and had none at prefent.
November the 20th. Turis morning I
fet out in company of a friend, on a jour-
ney to Racoon in New Ferfey, where ‘many
Swedes live, who have their own church.
We had three miles to go before we came
to the ferry which was to bring us over the
Delaware. The country here was very low
in fome places: the plains on the banks of
the river, were overflowed at every high
water or flowing of the tide, and at the eb-
bing they were left dry again. However
the inhabitants of the country hereabouts,
made ufe of this plain: for that purpofe
they had in feveral places thrown up walls
or dykes of earth towards the river, to pre-
vent its overflowing the plains, which they
made

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 331

made ufe of as meadows. On’ them the
Weater-beeches ( Platanus. occidentalis, Linn.)
were planted in great numbers on both fides
the road, quite clofe together: thefe in
fammer afford a pleafant fhade,. on ac-
count of the abundance and fize of their
leaves, and make the road extremely de-
lightful, as it refembles a fine fhady walk.
The Delaware has nearly the: fame breadth
here, which it has near Philadelphia. Near
the place where the ferry is to be met with,
_ feveral pretty houfes were built on both
fides, where travellers might. eet all kinds
of refrefhment. - On our journey from Pen-
Sylvania to New ‘ferfey, we were brought
over the De/aware in a ferry belonging to,
and kept in repair by: the Pen/ylvania-men ;
but on our return we were obliged to take
the ferry belonging to the New fer/ey fide.
As foon as we had croffed the river, we
were in a different province, for the De/a-
ware makes the divifion between Pen/ylua-
nia and New ‘ferfey, {o that every thing to
the weft of it belongs to the former, and
all to the eaft, to the latter province. Both
thefe provinces have in moft things differ-
ent laws, and their peculiar coin.

We now purfued our journey further,
and foon obferved that the country on this
fide appeared very different from that on

the

332 November 1748.

the other; for in Pen/fylvania the ground
confifts of more clay and black mould, and
is very fertile; but in New Yer/ey it is more
fandy and very poor, fo that the horfes.
went very deep in fand in feveral parts of
the road.. Near the place where we were
brought over, and a little way along the
fhore was a thick firwood: the trees were
not very high, but in their greateft vigour ;
between them appeared now and then a
low bufh of oak. But after travelling about
three Englith miles, the firwood ended,. and
we fawno more trees of this kind till wecame
to the church in Raccoon. In all the parts of
Penfylvania where I have been, I have found
few firwoods; onthe other hand, they are
abundant in New ‘ferfey, and efpecially i in
the lower part of that province. We af-
terwards found all the day long no other
trees, than fuch as have deciduous leaves ;
moft of thefe were oaks of different forts,
and of confiderable height, but they ftood
every where far enough afunder, to admit
a chaife to pafs through the wood without
any inconvenience, there being feldom any
fhrubs or underwood between the trees, ta
obftruc& the way. The leaves were all
fallen, and covered the ground more than a
hand’s breadth: this had an appearance of
encreafing the upper black foil greatly. In

feveral

New Ferfey, near Gloucefter. 333

feveral places flowed a finall rivulet. The
country was commonly plain, but fome-
times formed a few hills with an eafy de-
clivity, though no high mountains appear-
ed, and in a few places we found fome
{mall ftones not bigger than a fift. Single
farm houfes were fcattered in the country,
and in one place only was a {mall village:
the country was yet more covered with fo-
refts than cultivated, and we were for the
greateft part always in a wood.

Tus day and the next we pafled feveral
Kills, or {mall rivulets which flowed out of
the country into the De/aware with no great
defcent nor rapidity. , When the tide came
upin the De/aware, it likewife rofe in fome
of thefe rivulets a good way; formerly they
muft have fpread to a confiderable breadth
by the flowing of the tide, but at prefent
there were meadows on their banks, form-
ed, by throwing up ftrong dykes as clofe
as poflible to the water, to keep it from
overflowing. Such dykes were made along
all rivers here to confine their water ; there-
fore when the tide was higheft, the water
in the rivers was much higher than the
meadows: in the dykes were gates through
which the water can be drawn from, or
led into the meadows; they were fometimes
placed on the outward fide of the wall, fo

that

334 November 1748.

that the water in the meadows forced it
open, but the river water fhut it.

In the evening we came into the houfe
of a Swede called Peter Rambo, and we ftaid
the night at his houfe. |

Tue pines which we had feen today, and
which I have mentioned before, were of
that kind which has double leaves and ob-
long cones covered with aculeated fecales.
The Engh/h to diftinguifh it call it the
Ferfey Pine: commonly there were only
two {pines or leaves in one fafcicle,; as in
our common Swedi/h pines, but fometimes
three; the cones had long fpines, fo that
they were difficult to be touched. - Thefe
pines look at a diftance wholly like the
Swedi/b ones, fo that if the cones were not
regarded, they might eafily be taken for
the fame fpecies. Of thefe pines they make
a great quantity of tar, of which I thall
fpeak in the fequel ; but as moft of them
are but {mall, they are good for nothing
elfe; for if they be employed as pofts, or
poles in the ground, they are in a fhort time
rendered ufelefs by rotting: as foon as they
are cut down the worms are very greedy of
them ; they foon eat through the wood, and
only a few weeks after it iscut down; how-
ever it is made ufe of as fuel where:no other

wood

New “ferfey, Racoon. 335

wood is to be got, in feveral places they
make charcoal of it, as I intend to mention
in the fequel. There is another thing
which deferves notice, in regard to thefe
trees, and which feveral people, befides
myfelf, have experienced. In the great
heat of the fummer, the cattle like to ftand
in the fhade of thefe trees, preferably to
that of the oak, hiccory, walnut, water-
beech and other trees of this kind, whofe
foliage is very thick ; and when the cattle
find the latter with the former, they always
choofe to ftand under the firs and pines,
though the other trees with annually deci-
duous leaves could afford a better thade:
and if there be but a fingle pine in a wood,
as many cattle from the herd as can ftand
under it, throng to it. Some people
would infer from hence, that the refinous
exhalations of thefe trees, were beneficial
to the cattle, and which made them more
_ inclined to be near firs and pines, than any
other trees.
THE Spoon tree, which never grows to
a great height, we faw this day in feveral
places. The Swedes here have called it
thus, becaufe the Indians who formerly
lived in thefe provinces, ufed to make their
fpoons and trowels of the wood of this tree.
1n my cabinet of ‘natural curiofities, I have
a {poon

336 November 1748.

a {poon made of this wood by an Indiati;
who has killed many ftags and other ani-
mals on the very {pot where Pdiladelphia af-
terwards was built; for in his time that
{pot was yet covered with trees and fhrubs.
The Englifh call this treea Laurel, becaufe
its leaves refemble thofe of the Laurocera-
fus. Dr. Limneus, conformable to the pe-
culiar friendfhip and goodnefs which he has
always honoured me with, has been pleafed
to call this tree, Kalua folus ovatis, corym=
bis terminalibus, or Kalma latifolia. It fuc-
ceeds beft on the fide of hills, efpecially on
the north fide, where a brook pafiles by;
therefore on meeting with fome fteep places
(on hills) towards a brook, or with a fteep
fide of a hill towards a marfh, you are fure
to find the Ka/mza. But it frequently ftands
mixed among beechtrees. ‘The higher the
’ Kalmias ftand on the north fide of a moun-
tain, the lefs they grow: I have feen them
not only in Penfyfvania and New Ferfey,
but even in New York, but there they are
more f{carce: I never found them beyond
the forty-fecond deg. of north lat. though I
took ever fo great care to look for them:
they have the quality of preferving their
fine green leaves throughout winter, fo
that when all other trees have loft their
ornaments, and ftand quite naked, thefe
chear

New Ferfey, Raccoon. 337

chear the woods with their green foliage.
About the month of May they begin to
flower in thefe parts, and then their beauty
rivals that of moft of the known trees in na-
ture: the flowers are innumerable, and fit
in great bunches. Before they open, they
have a fine red colour, but as they are ex-
panded, the fun bleaches them, fo that
fome are quite white; many preferve the
colour of rofes. Their fhape is fingular,
for they refemble a crater of the ancients:
their {cent however is none of the moft
agreeable. In fome places it was cuftomary
to adorn the churches on chriftmas day or

_ new-years day with the fine branches of this

tree, which are then thick covered with
leaves.
Bur tively trees are known ft another >

remarkable quality; their leaves are poifon \—
- to fome animals, and food for others: ex-

perience has taught the people that when

fheep eat of thefe leaves, they either die

immediately, or fall very fick, and recover

with great difficulty. The young and more
tender fheep are killed by a {mall portion,

_ but the elder ones can bear a ftronger dofe.
Yet this food will likewife prove mortal to

them, if they take too much of it: the
fame noxious effect it fhews in regard to
calves which eat too much of the leaves:

they

338 November 1748.

they either die, or do not recover eafily. “I
can remember, that in the autumn of the
year 1748, fome calves eat of the leaves,
but fell very fick, fwelled, foamed at the
mouth, and could hardly ftand, however
they were cured by giving them gunpowder
-and other medicines: the fheep are moft
expofed to be tempted by thefe leaves in
winter ; for after having been kept in ftables, |
for fome months they are greedy of all
greens efpecially if the {now {till lies upon
the fields, and therefore the green but
poifonous leaves of the Kalmia, are to them
very tempting. Horfes, oxen and cows
which have eaten them, have likewife been
very. ill after the meal, and though none of
them ever died of eating thefe leaves, yet
moft people believed, that if they took too
great a portion of them, death would cer-
tainly be the refulte. For it has been ob-
ferved that when thefe animals only eat
{mall quantities, yet they fuffer great pains.
On the other hand the leaves of the Kalmia
are the food of ftags, when the {now covers
the ground, and hides all other provifions
from them. Therefore, if they be fhot in
winter, their bowels are found filled with
thefe leaves; and it is very extraordinary,
that if thofe bowels are given to dogs, they
become quite itupid and as it were drunk,

and

New Fefey, Raccoon. 339

and often fall fo fick, that they feem to be
at the point of death, but the people, who
have eaten the venifon, have not felt the
leaft indifpofition. The leaves of the Kal-
mia are likewife the winter food of thofe
birds, which the Swedes in North America
call Hazel-hens, and which ftay here. all
winter, for when they are killed, their
‘crop is found guite filled with them.

Tue: wood of the Ka/mia is very hard,
and fome people on that account, make the
axis of their pullies of it. Weavers fhuttles

are chiefly made of it, and the weavers are

-of opinion, that no wood in this country is

better for this purpofe, for it is compact,
may be made very fmooth, and does not
eafily crack, or burft. The joiners and
turners here, employ it in making all kinds
of work, which requires the beft wood;
they chiefly ufe the root becaufe it is quite

yellow; the wood has avery fuitable hard-
nefs and finenefs, and from the center, fpread
as it were {mall rays, which are at fome
diftance from each other. When theleaves
of the Ka/ma-are thrown into the fire, they
make a crackling like falt. The chimney
fweepers make brooms in winter of the
branches with the leaves on them, fince
they cannot get others in that feafon. In
the fummer. of the year 1750, a certain
2 kind

340 November 1748,

kind of worms, devoured. the leaves of al-
moft all the trees in Penfylvania; yetthey —
did not venture to attack the leaves of the
Kalmia. Some people aflerted, that when
a fire happened in the woods, it never went
further, as foon as it came to the Kalmias,
or Spoon trees. |

November the 21ft. Tue Saal and all
the other inhabitants of the country plant
great quantities of maize, both for them-
felves and for their cattle. It was afferted
that it is the beft food for hogs, becaufe it
makes them very fat, and gives their flefh
an agreeable flavour, preferable to all other
meat. I have given in two differtations up-
on this kind of corn to the Swedi if Royal
Academy of Sciences, which ftand in their
Memoirs, one in the Volume for the year
1751, in the laft quarter, and the other in
the firft quarter of the Volume for the year
1752, and thither I refer my readersy,

- Tuer wheels of the carts which are: here
made ufe of, are compofed of two different.
kinds of wood. The felloes were made of
what is called the Spanifh oak, and the
{pokes of the white oak.

Tue Safafras tree grows every where
in this place. I have already obfery-
ed feveral particulars in regard to it,
and intend to add a few more here. On

throwing

New ferfey, Raccoon. 341

throwing fome of the wood into the fire,
it caufes accrackling as falt does. The wood
is made ufe of for pofts belonging to the
enclofures, for it is faid to laft a long time
in the ground: but it is likewife faid, that |
there is hardly any kind of wood, which is
more attacked by worms than this, when it
is expofed to the air without cover, and
- that in a fhort time it is quite worm-eaten
through and through. The Swedes related,
that the Indians who formerly inhabited
thefe parts, made bowls of it. On cutting
fome part of the faffafras tree, or its fhoots,
and holding it to the nofe, it has a {trong
but pleafant {mell. Some people peel the
root, and boil the peel with the beer which
_ they are brewing, becaufe they believe it
wholefome for the fame reafon. The peel
is put into brandy, either whilft it is diftil-
_ling, or after it is made.

An old Swede remembered. that his mo-
ther cured many people of the dropfy, by
a decoction of the root of faffafras in water
drank every morning: but fhe ufed, atthe
fame time to cup the patient on the feet.
The old man aflured me, he had often
feen people cured by this means, who had
been brought to his mother wrapped up in
fheets.

Y 3 WHEN

242 November 1748

WHEN a part of a wood is deftined for
cultivation, the faflafras trees are commonly
left upon it, becaufe they have a very
thick foliage, and afford a cool fhade to
the cattle, during the great heats. Several
of the Swedes, wath and fcour the veflels
in which they intend to keep cyder, beer
or brandy, with water in which the fafla-
fras root or its peel has been boiled; which
they think renders all thofe liquors more
wholefome. Some people get their bed-
pofts made of faffafras wood, in order to
expel the bugs; for its ftrong {cent it is
faid prevents thofe vermin from {fettling in
them. For two or three years together
this has the defired effect ; or about as long
as the wood keeps its {trong aromatic {mell;
but after that time it has been obferved to
lofe it effect. A joiner fhewed me a bed,
which he had made for himfelf, the pofts of
which were of faffafras wood, but as it was
ten or twelve years old, there were fo many
bugs in it, that it feemed likely, they
would not let him fleep peaceably. Some
Enghfhmen related, that fome years ago it
had been cuftomary in London, to drink a
kind of tea of the flowers of faflafras, be-
caufe it was looked upon as very falutary ;
but upon recollecting that the fame potion
was much ufed againft the venereal difeafe,

! « 1f

New ‘ferfey, Raccoon. 343

it was foon left off, left thofe that ufed it,
fhould be looked upon as infected with that
difeafe. In Pen/ylvania fome people put
chips of faffafras into their chefts, where
they keep all forts of woollen ftuffs, in or-
der to expel the moths (or Larva, or ca~-
terpillars of moths or tinies) which com-
monly fettle in them in fummer. The root
keeps its fmell for a long while: I have |
feen one which had lain five or fix years in
the drawer of a table, and ftill pretcerne the
{trength of its fcent.

A swEDE named Rambo, related that the
Indians formerly dyed all forts of leather
red with the bark of the chefnut oak.

SOME old people remembered that in the
year 1697, there had been fo rigorous a:
winter, that the ice in the river Delaware
was two feet thick.

November the 22d. Aokrt Heim was
one of the moft confiderable Swedes in this
place, and his father came over into this
country along with the Swedz/b governor
Prince; he was upwards of feventy years of ©
age. This old man told us, that in his
youth there was grafs in the woods, which
grew very clofe, and was every where two
feet high; but, that it was fo much leffened
at prefent, that the cattle hardly find food
enough, and that therefore four cows now
give no more milk than one at that time;

ie but

244 November 1748.

but the caufes of this alteration are eafy to
find. In the younger years of old Helm,
the country was little inhabited, and hardly
the tenth part of the cattle kept which is
at prefent; a cow had therefore as much
food at that time, as ten now have. Fur-
ther, moft kinds of grafs here are annual,
and do not for feveral years together fhoot
up from the fame root, as our Swedt/h
grafles: they muft fow themfelves every
year, becaufe the laft year’s plant dies away
every autumn. The great numbers of cat-
tle hinder this fowing, as the grafs is eaten
before it can produce flowers and fruit. We
need not therefore wonder that the grafs is
fo thin on fields, hills, and paftures in
thefe provinces. This is likewife the reafon
why travellers in New Ferfey, Penfylvania,
and Maryland, find many difficulties, efpe-’
cially in winter, to get forwards with their
own horfes, for the grafs in thefe provinces
is not very abundant, becaufe the cattle eat
it before it can bring feeds: but more to
the north, as in Canada, are a fuflicient
quantity of perennial grafles ; fo wifely has
the Creator regulated every thing. The
cold parts of the earth, naturally bring forth
a more durable grafs, becaufe the inhabi-
tants want more hay to feed their cattle
with, on account of the lepgen of the win-

| ter.

New Serfey, Raccoon. — 34.5

tet. The fouthern provinces again have
lefs perennial grafs, as the cattle may be
in the fields all the winter. However care-
ful ceconomiits have got feeds of perennial
graffes from England, and other European
ftates, and fowed it in their meadows,
_ where they feem to thrive exceedingly well.
Tue Perfimon ( Diofpyros Virginiana) was
pretty common here: I have already men-
tioned it before, but I intend now to add
fome more particulars. Some of its fruits
began to ripen and to become fit for eating ©
about this time, for they always ripen very
late in autumn, and then the people eat
them like other fruit: they are very {weet
and glutinous, yet have a little aftringency
I frequently ufed to eat a great quantity of
them, without. feeling the leaft inconve-
nience. From the perfimon feveral Ex-
ghjhmen and Swedes brew a very palatable
liquor in the following manner. As foon
as the fruit is ripe, a fufficient quantity is
gathered, which is very eafy, as each tree
is well ftocked with them. Thefe perfimon
apples are put into a dough of wheat or
other flour, formed into cakes, and put into
an oven, in which they continue till they are
quite baked, and fufficiently dry, when they
are taken out again: then, in order to brew
the liquor, a pot full of water is put on the
fire

34.6 November 1748.

fire and fome of the cakes are put in: thefe
become foft by degrees as the water grows
warm, and crumble in pieces at laft; the
pot is then taken from the fire, and the
water in it well ftirred about, that the cakes
may mix with it: this is then poured into
another vefiel, and they continue to fteep
and break as many cakes as are neceflary for a
brewing: the malt is then infufed, and they
proceed as ufual with the brewing. Beer
thus prepared is reckoned much preferable
to other beer. ‘They likewife make brandy
of this fruit in the following mannner:
having collected a fuflicient quantity of per-
fimons in autumn, they are altogether put
into a veflel, where they lie for a week till
they are quite foft. Then they pour water
on them, and in that ftate they are left to
ferment of themfelves, without promoting
the fermentation by any addition. The
brandy is then made in the common way,
and is faid to be very good, efpecially if
grapes (in particular of the fweet fort)
which are wild in the woods, be mixed
with the perfimon fruit. Some perfimons
are ripe at the end of September, but mott.
of them later, and fome not before Novem-
ber and December, when the cold firft over-
comes their acrimony. The wood of this
tree is very good for joiner’s inftruments,

fuch

New Ferfey, Raccoon. 347
fuch as planes, handles to chifels, &c. but

- if after being cut down, it lies expofed to
f{unfhine and rain, it is the firft wood which
rots, and in a year’s time there is nothing
left but what is ufelefs. When the perfi-
mon trees get once into a field, they are
not eafily got out of it again, as they {pread
fomuch. I was told, that if you cut off
a branch and put it into the ground, it
ftrikes root, but in very ftrong winters,
thefe trees often die by froft, and they, to-
gether with the peach trees, bear cold the
leaft of any.

November the 23d. SEveRAL kinds of
gourds and melons are cultivated here:
they have partly been originally cultivated
by the Indians, and partly brought over by
Europeans. Of the gourds there was a kind
which were crooked at the end, and oblong
in general, and therefore they were called
crooked necks (Crocknacks;) they keep al-
moft all winter. ‘There is yet another {pe-
cies of gourds which have the fame quality:
others again are cut in pieces or flips, drawn
upon thread and dried; they keep all the
year long, and are then boiled or ftewed.
All forts of gourds are prepared for eating
in different manners, as is likewife cufto-
mary in Sweden. Many farmers have a
whole field of gourds,

SQUASHES

348 November 1748.

SquasuHEs are a kind of gourds, which the
Europeans got from the Indians, and I have
already mentioned them before. They are
eaten boiled, either with flefh or by them-
felves. In the firft cafe, they are put’on
the edge of the difh round the meat; they
require little care, for into whatever ground
they are fown, they grow in it and fucceed
well. Ifthe feed is put into the fields in
autumn, it brings fquafhes next {pring,
though during winter it has fuffered from
froft, {now and wet.

Tue Calabafhesare likewife gourds, hick
are planted in quantities by the Swedes and
other inhabitants, but they are not fit for
eating, and are made ufe of for making all
forts of veflels ; they are more tender than
the {quafhes, for they do not always ripen
here, and only when the weather is very
warm. In order to make veflels of them,
they are firft dried well: the feeds, toge-
ther with the pulpy and fpungy matter in
which they lie, are afterwards taken out
and thrown away. The fhells are {craped
very clean within, and then great {poons or
ladles, funnels, bowls, difhes and the like
may be made of them; they are particular-

'/\ ly fit for keeping feeds of plants in, which

are to be fent over fea, for they keep their

power of vegetating much longer, if they
be

New “ferfey, Raccoon. 349

be put in calabafhes, than by any other
means. Some people fcrape the outfide of
the calabafhes before they are opened, dry
them afterwards and then clean them with-
in; this makes them as hard as bones:
they are fometimes wathed, fo that they al-
ways keep their white colour. |

Most of the farmers in this country,
fow Buck-wheat, in the middle of uly ;
it muft not be fown later, for in that cafe
the froft ruins it, but if it be fown before
Fuly, it flowers all the fumimer long, but
the flowers drop, and no feed is generated.
Some people, plough the ground twice
where they intend to fow buck-wheat ;
others plough it only once, about two
weeks before they fow it. As foon. as it
is fown the field is harrowed. It has been
found by experience, that in a wet year.

buck-wheat is moft likely to fucceed: it ve

ftands on the fields till the froft comes on,
When the crop is favourable, they get
twenty, thirty and even forty bufhels from
one. The Swedi/h churchwarden Ragni/l-
fon, in whofe houfe we were at this time,
had got fuch a crop: they make buck-
wheat cakes. and pudding. The cakes are
commonly made in the morning, and are
baked:in a frying pan, or on a ftone: are
battered and then eaten with tea or coffee,

inftead

350 November 1748.

inftead of toafted bread with butter, or toatt,
which the Engl/h commonly eat at break-
faft. The buck-wheat cakes are very good,
and are likewife ufual at Philadelphia and
in other Engl/b colonies, efpecially in win-
ter. Buck-wheat is an excellent food for
fowls; they eat it greedily, and lay more
eggs, than they do with other food: hogs
are likewife fattened with it. Buck-wheat
ftraw is of no ufe; it is therefore left upon
the field, in the places where it has: been
thrafhed, or it is fcattered in the orchards,
in order to ferve as a manure by putrify-
ing. Neither cattle nor any other animal
will eat of it, except in the greateft ne-
eefiity, when the fnow covers the ground
and nothing elfe is to be met with. But
though. buck-wheat is fo common in the
Engl colonies, yet the French had no
right notion of it in Canada, and it was
never cultivated among them. |

Towarps night we found fome Ghw
Worms in the wood, their body was linear,
confifting of eleven articulations, a little.
/ pointed before and behind; the length from

AN head to tail was five and a half geometrical

lines; the colour was brown and the arti-
culations joined in the fame manner as in
the onifci or woodlice: The antenne or —
feel horns were fhort and filiform, or thread-

fhaped ; |

New Ferfey, Raccoon. Rey

fhaped; and the feet were faftened to the
foremoft articulations of the body: when
the infect creeps, its hindmott articulations
are dragged on the ground, and help its
motion. The extremity of the tail con-
tain a matter which fhines in the dark,
with a green light: the infect could draw
it in, fo that it was not vifible. It had
rained confiderably all day, yet they crept
in great numbers among the bufhes, fo that
the ground feemed as it were fown with
ftars.. I fhall in the fequel have occafion

to mention another kind of infedts or flies ¥'“

which fhine in the dark, when flying in
the air. |

November the 24th. Horry, or Ikx
Aquifolium, grows in wet places, fcattered
in the foreft, and belongs tothe rare trees ;
its leaves are green both in fummer and in
winter. The Swedes dry its leaves, bruife
them in a mortar, boil them in fmall beer,

and take them againft the pleurify. ~~,
Rep is dyed with brafil wood, and like-

wife with a kind of mofs, which grows on X’ _

the trees here: d/we is dyed with Indigo, but
to get a black colour, the leaves of the
common field forrel (/Rumex Acetofella) are
boiled with the ftuff to be dyed, which is
then dried, and boiled again with /og-wood
and copperas: the black colour thus produ-

ced,

352 November, 1 748.

ced, is faid to be very durable. The peo-
ple {pin and weave a great part of their every
day’s apparel, and dye them in their houfes.
, Flax is cultivated by. many people, and
’ fucceeds very well, but the ufe of hemp i iS
not very common.

Rye, wheat, and buck-wheat are cut
with the fickle, but oats are mown with a
{cythe. The fickles which are here made
ufe of are long and narrow, and their fharp
edges have clofe teeth on the inner fide.
The field lies fallow during a year, and in
that time the cattle may graze on it.

Aut the inhabitants of this place from
the higheft to the loweft, have each their
orchard, which is greater or lefs according
to their wealth. The treesin it are chiefly
peach trees, apple trees and cherry trees :
compare with this what I have already faid
upon this fubjec before.

A LITTLE before noon, we left this
place and continued our journey, paft the
Swedifb church in Raccoon, to Perils groves.
The country, on the fides of this road, is
very fandy in many places and pretty near
level. Here and there appear fingle farms,
yet they are very {carce, and large extenfive
pieces of ground are ftill covered with fo-
refts, which chiefly confit of feveral {pecies

——~

. oak and hiccory. However we could |

go

New Ferfey, Raccoon. 353

| go with eafe through thefe woods, as there

are few bufhes (or under-wood) and {tones

_to be met with. It was not only eafy to
_ ride in every part of the wood on horfe-

back, but even in moft places there was
fufficient room for a {mall coach or a cart.
Sometimes a few lying trees which had
been thrown on the ground by a hurricane,
or had fallen down through great age, cau{-
ed fome hindrance.

November the 25th. Durinc my ftay
at Raccoon, at this time and all the enfuing
winter, 1 endeavoured to get all informati-
ons from the old Swedes relating to the in-
creafe of land, and the decreafe of water in
thefe parts; 1 fhall therefore infert the an-

- fwers here, which I have received to my

queftions. They are asI got them, and I
fhall only throw in a few remarks which
may ferve to explain things: the reader
therefore is left at liberty to draw his own

- gnferences and conclufions.

One of the Swedes, called King, ea |
was above fifty years of age, was convinced,
that about this time the little lakes, brooks,

_ fprings and rivers had much lefs water,

than they had when he was a boy. He
could mention feveral lakes on which the
people went in large boats in his youth,
and had fufficient water even in the hotteft

| Z fummers ;

354 November 1748.

fummers; but now, they were either en= 4
tirely dried up, or for the greateft pare s ¥
and in the latter cafe, all the water wasloft —
in fummer. He had himfelf feen the fith ©
dying in them, and he was apt to believe that _
at this time it did not rain fo much in fum- :
mer, as it did when he was young. One —
of his relations, who lived about eight — 4
miles from the river Delaware, on a hill :
near arivulet, had got a well, dug in his
court yard: at the depth of forty feet, they
found a quantity of fhells of oyfters and
mufcles, and likewife a great quantity of —
reed, and pieces of broken branches. I
afked, to what caufes they afcribed what
they had difcovered ? and I was anfwered,
that fome people believed thefe things had
lain there ever fince the deluge, and others, -
that the ground increafed.

PeTER RamBo, a man who was near fixty
years of age, aflured me that in {feveral
places at Raccoon, where wells had been
dug, or any other work carried deep into
the ground, he had feen great quantities of
mufcle fhells and other marine animals.
On digging wells, the people have fome-
times met with logs of wood at the depth
of twenty feet, fome of which were putri-
fied, and others as it were burnt. They
once found a great oe in the ground,

at

a us
he, 4

=)

. a

aan

Yow
. eee

New “ferfey, Raccoon. 355

: at ‘this depth. Query, Is it not probable,

that. the burnt wood which has been thus

_ dug up, was only blackened by a fubterra-
neous mineral vapour? People however
have concluded from this, that America

has had inhabitants before the deluge. This

man (Peter Rambo) further told me, that

bricks had been found deep in the ground ;
but may notthe brick coloured clay (of which

_ the ground here chiefly confifts, and which

is a mixture of clay and fand) in a hard ftate
have had the appearance of bricks? I have
feen fuch hardened clay, which at firft fight

is eafily miftaken for brick. He likewife

afferted, that the water in rivers was {till as
high as it ufed to be, as far back as memory
could reach; but little lakes, ponds, and

_ waters in marfhes are vifibly decreafed, and

many of them dried up.
Maons Keen, a Swede above feventy

_ years old, afferted, that on digging a well
he had feen at the depth of forty feet, a G

great piece of chefnut wood, together with

roots and ftalks of reed, and a clayey earth

like that which commonly covers the fhores

of falt water bays and coves. This clay

~ had a fimilar fmell and a faline tafte. Maons fh

Keen and feveral other people inferred from
hence, that the whole country where Rac-
toon and Penn’s neck are fituated, was ancient-

Z2 ly

356 November 1 748.

ly quite overflowed by the fea. They like- |
wife knew, that at a great depth in the ©

ground, fuch a trowel as the Indians make
ufe of, had been found.

Sven Lock, and Wilham Cobb, both

above fifty years of age agreed, that in
many places hereabouts, where wells had

been dug, they had feen a great quantity of |
reed, moftly rotten, at the depth of twenty —

\ or thirty feet and upwards.
As Cobé made a well for himfelf, the

workmen after digging twenty feet deep, —

came upon fo thick a branch, that they

could not get forwards, till it was cut in

two places ; the wood was ftill very hard. |

It is very common to find near the furface

of the earth, quantities of all forts of leaves —

not quite putrified. On making a dyke
fome years ago, along the river on which

the church at Raccoon ftands; and for that —

purpofe cutting through a bank, it was
found quite full of oyfter fhells, though this
place is above a hundred and twenty Englith
miles from the neareft fea fhore. Thefe

men, and all the inhabitants of Raccoon,
concluded from this circumftance (of their

own accord, and without being led to the
thought) that this tract of land was a part
of the fea many centuries ago. They like-
wife afferted that many little lakes, which

in

New Ferfey, Raccoon. 387

- in their youth were full of water, even in
the hotteft feafon, now hardly formed a
‘narrow brook in fummer, except after

heavy rains; but it did not appear to them
_ thatthe rivers had loft any water.

Aoxe Hem, found (on digging a well)
firft fand-and little ftones, to the depth of
eight feet; next a pale coloured clay, and _
then a black one. At the depth of fifteen
feet he’ found a piece of hard wood, and
feveral pieces of mundick or pyrites.. He

told me that he knew feveral places in the
Delaware, where the people went in boats,
when he was young; but which at prefent
were changed into little iflands, fome of
which were near an Exglifh mile in length.

Thefe iflands derive their origin from a fand
or bank’ in ‘the river ; on this the water
wafhes' fome clay, in which rufhes come
up, and thus the reft is generated by de-
grees.

On a meeting of the oldeft Swedes in the
patith of Raccoon, I obtained the following
anfwers to the queftions which I afked them
on this account. Whenever'they dig a well
in this neighbourhood, they always find at
the depth of twenty or thirty feet, great
numbers of oyfter fhells and clams: the
latter are, as was above-mentioned, a kind ©

Z 2 of

358 November, 1748.

of large fhells, which are found in bays,
and of which the Indians make their mo-
ney. In many places, on digging wells a
quantity of rufhes and reeds have been found
almoft wholly undamaged; and once on
fuch an occafion a whole bundle of flax was
brought up, found between twenty and
thirty feet under ground ; it feemed as lit-
tle damaged as if it had been lately put
under ground ; all looked at it with afto-
nifhment, as it was beyond conception how
it could get there; but I believe the good
people faw fome American plants, fuch as
the wild Virginian flax, or Linum Virginia-
num, and the Antirrhinum Canadenfe, which
look very like common flax, yet it is re-
markable that the bundle was really tied
together. The Europeans on their arrival
in America, found our common flax neither
growing wild nor cultivated by the Indians,
how then could this bundle get into the
ground? Can it be fuppofed, that paft
ages have feen a nation here, fo early ac-
quainted with the ufe of flax? I would ra-
ther abide by the opinion, that the above ©
American plants, or other fimilar ones, have
‘been taken for flax. Charcoal and fire-
brands have often been found under ground:
The Swedifh churchwarden, Eric Ragnilfon,
told me that he had feen a quantity of them,
meee

New Serfey, Raccoon. 359

which had been brought up at the digging
of a well: on fuch occafions, people have
often found (at the depth of between twen-
ty and fifty feet) great branches and blocks.
There'were fome fpots where twenty feet
under the furface of the earth, the people
had found fuch trowels as the Indians ufe :
from thefe obfervations they all concluded,
that this tract of land had formerly been
the bottom of the fea. It is to be obferved,
that moft of the wells which have hitherto
been made, have been dug in new fettle-.
ments, where the wood was yet ftanding,
and had probably ftood for centuries toge-
ther. From the obfervations which have
hitherto been mentioned, and to which I
fhall add fimilar ones in the fequel, we
may, with a confiderable degree of certain-
ty conclude, that a great part of the pro-
vince of New ‘fer/ey, in-ages unknown to
pofterity, was part of the bottom of the
fea, and was afterwards formed by. the
flime and mud, and the many other things
which the river Delaware carries down
along with it, from the upper parts of the
country: however Cape May feems to give
fome occafion for doubts, of which I fhall
{peak in the fequel.

Z 4. Novem-

foal
svt

360 November 1748.

November the 27th. THE American ever
greens are

side Aquifolium, belle,

2. Kalmia latifolia, the {poon tree. |

3- Kalmia angujtifola, another {pecies of i it.

4. Magnolia glauca, the beaver tree.
The young trees of this kind only keep
their leaves, the others drop them.

5. Vifcum album, or mifletoe ; this com-
monly grows upon the Ny//a aquatica, or
tupelo tree, upon the Liguidambar ftyraci-
jlua, or {weet gum tree, the oak and lime
tree, fo that their whole fummits-were fre-
quently quite green in winter. |

6. Myrica cerifera, or the candleberry
tree; of this however only fome of the
youngeft fhrubs preferve fome leaves, but
moft of them had already loft them.

7. Pinus Aows, the pine.

8. Pinus fylvefiris, the fir.

9. Cupreffus thyoides, the white “oa oe

10. YuniperusVirginiana, the red cedar. .

SEVERAL oaks and other trees. dropt
their leaves here in winter, which however
keep them ever green, a little more to the

fouth, and in Carolina.

November the 30th. Ir has been ob-

ferved, that the Europeans in North Ame-
rica, Whether they were born in Sweden,

England,

New Ferfey, Raccoon. 361

England, Germany or Holland; or in North
America, of European parents, always loft \/
their teeth much fooner than: commons
the women efpecially were fubyect to this
difagreeable circumftance, the men did not
_fuffer fo’ much from it.. Girls not above
twenty years old, frceriven tly had loft half
of their teeth, without any hopes of getting
new ones: I have attempted to penetrate
into the caufes of this early fhedding of
the teeth, but I know not, whether I have
hit upon a true one. Many people were
of opinion that the air of this. country hurt
the teeth: fo much is certain that the
weather can no where be fubje& to more
frequent and fudden changes; ‘for the end
of a hot day, often turns out piercing cold,
and vice werfa. ' Yet this change of wea+
ther, cannot be looked upon as having any
effe& upon the fhedding of the teeth, for
the Indians prove: the contrary: they live
in the fame air, and always keep fine, en-
tire white teeth; this I have feen myfelf,
and have been affured. of by every body:
others afcribe it to the great quantities of
fruit and {weet meats which are here eaten.
But I have known many people, who never
eat any fruit, and neverthelefs had hardly a
tooth left.
I THEN began to fafpee the tea, dotted
1S

362 November 1748:

is drank here in the morning and afternoon,
efpecially by women, and is fo common at
prefent, that there is hardly a farmer’s wife
ot a poor woman, who does not drink tea
in the morning: I was confirmed in this
opinion when I took a journey. through
fome parts of the country which were {till
inhabited by Indians.. For Major General
“fobnfon told me at that time, that feveral
of the Indians who lived clofe to the Euro-
pean fettlements, had learnt to drink tea.
And it has been obferved, that fuch of the
Indian women, as ufed themfelves too much
to this liquor, had in the fame manner as
the European women, loft their teeth pre-
maturely, though they had formerly been
quite found. Thofe again, who had not
ufed tea preferved their teeth ftrong and
found to a great age.

I AFTERWARDs found, that the ufe of
tea could not entirely caufe this accident.
Several young women who lived in this
country, but were born in Europe, com-
plained that they loft moft of their teeth
after they came to America: Lafked, whe-
ther they did not think that it arofe from
the frequent ufe of tea, as it was known,
that {trong tea, as it were enters into and
corrodes the teeth; but they anfwered,
that they had loft their teeth before ct

ad

New Ferfey, Raccoon. 363

had began to drink tea, but continuing my
enquiries, I found at laft a fufficient caufe,
to account for the lofs of their teeth : each
of thefe women owned, that they were ac=
cuftomed to eat every thing hot, and no-
thing was good in their opinion, unlefs, they
could eat it as faft as it came from the fire.
This is likewife the cafe with the women in
the country who lofe their teeth much fooner
and more abundantly than the men. They
drink tea in greater quantity and much
oftener, in the morning, and even at noon;
when the employment of the men will not
allow them to fit at the tea-table. Befides
that, the Exgh/hmen care very little for tea,
and a bowl of punch is much more agree-
able to them. When the Engh/h women
drink tea, they never pour it out of the cup
into the faucer, but drink it hot as it is out
of the former. The Jzdian women in imi-
tation of them, {wallow the teain the fame
manner. On the contrary thofe Indians
whofe teeth are found, never eat any thing
hot, but take their meat either quite cold,
or only juft milk warm.

I asxep the Swedi/h churchwarden in
Philadelphia, Mr. Bengtfon, and a number
of old Swedes, whether their parents and
countrymen had likewife loft their teeth
as foon as the American colonifts; but they

told

364. November 1748.

told me:that they had preferved them toa
very great.age. Bengt/on aflured me, that
his father at the age of feventy, cracked
peach ftones and the black walnuts with
his teeth,. notwithftanding their great hard-
nefs, which.at this time no body dares to
venture atthat-age. This confirms what I

have before faid; for at that time the ufe of ©

tea: was not yet known in North America.

~~ No difeafe is more common here, than
that which the Engli/h call fever and ague,
which is fometimes quotidian, tertian or
quartan. \ But it often happens, that’a per-
fon who has had a tertian ague, after lofing
it for a week or two, gets a quotidian ague
in its ftead, which after a while again
changes into a tertian. The fever com-
monly attacks the people at the end of 4u-
guft, or beginning of September, and com-
monly continues during autumn and win-
ter till towards {fpring, when it ceafes en=
tirely. | tease
- STRANGERS who arrive here, common=
ly are attacked by this ficknefs the firft or
fecond year after their arrival ; and it is
more violent upon them, than upon the
natives, fo that they fometimes. die of it ;
but if they efcape the firft time, they have
the advantage of not being vifited again the

next year, or perhaps never any more. It is:

- commonly

New “ferfey, Raccoon. 365

commonly faid here, that ftrangers get the
fever to accuftom them to the climate. The
natives of European offspring, have annual
fits of this ague in fome parts of the coun-
try: fome however are foon delivered from
it, with others on the contrary it continued
for fix months together, and others are
affiiéted with it till they die. The Indi-
ans alfo fuffer it, but not fo violently as the
Europeans. No age is fecured againft it :
in thofe places where it rages annually,
you fee old men and women attacked with
it; and even children in the cradle, fome-
times not above three weeks old: it is
likewife quotidian, tertian or quartan with
them. This autumn the ague was more
violent here, than it commonly ufed to be.
People who are afflicted with it, look as
pale as death, and are greatly weakened,
but in general are not prevented from doing
their work in the intervals. It is remark-
able, that every year there are great parts
of the country where this fever rages, and
others where fcarce a fingle perfon has
been taken ill. It likewife is worth notice,
that there are places where the people can-
not remember that it formerly prevailed in
their country, though at prefent it begins
to grow more common: yet there was no
other vifible difference between the feveral

places

366 November 1 748 :

places. All the old Swedes, Englifhmen,
Germans, &c. unanimoufly afferted, that
the fever had never been fo violent, and of —
{uch continuance when they were boys, as
it is at prefent. They were likewife ge-
nerally of opinion, that about the year
1680, there were not fo many people af-
flidted with it, as about this time. How-
ever others equally old, were of opinion
that the fever was proportionably as com-
mon formerly, as it is at prefent; but that
it could not at that time be fo fenfibly per-
ceived, on account of the {carcity of inha-
bitants, and the great diftance of their fet-
tlements from each other; it is therefore
probable that the effets of the fever have
at all times been equal.

Ir would be difficult to determine the
true caufes of this difeafe; they feem to be ©
numerous, and not always alike: fome-
times, and I believe commonly feveral of
them unite. I have taken all poffible care
to found the opinions of the phyfieians here
on that head, and I here offer them to the
reader.

Some of them think that the peculi-
ar qualities of the air of this country caufe
this fever; but. moft of them affert that
it is generated by the ftanding and putrid
water, which it feems is confirmed by ex-

perience.

New “Ferfey, Raccoon. 367

perience. For it has been obferved in this
country, that fuch people as live in the
neighbourhood of Morafles or Swamps, or
in places where a ftagnant, ftinking water
is to be met with, are commonly infefted
with the fever and ague every year, and
get it more readily than others. And this
chiefly happens at a time of the year when
thofe ftagnant waters are moft evaporated
by the exceflive heat of the fun, and the
air is filled with the moft noxious vapors.
The fever likewife is very violent in all
places which have a very low fituation, and
where falt water comes up with the tide
twice in twenty four hours, and unites with
the ftagnant, frefh water in the country.
Therefore on travelling in fummer over
fuch low places where frefh and falt water
unite, the naufeous ftench arifing from
thence often forces the traveller to ftop his
nofe. On that account moft of the inhabi-
tants of Penn’s neck, and Salemin New “fer-
fey, where,the ground has the above-men-
tioned quality, are annually infefted with
the fever to a much greater degree, than
_ the inhabitants of the higher country. If
an inhabitant of the higher part of the
country, where the people are free from the
fever, removes into the lower parts, he may
be well affured that the fever will attack

him

368 November 1748.

him at the ufual time, and that he will get
it again every year, as long as he continues
In that country. People of the livelieft
complexion on coming into the low parts
of the country, and continuing there for
fome time, have entirely loft their colour
and become quite pale. However this can-
not be the fole caufe of the fever, as I have
been in feveral parts of the country which
had a low fituation and had ftagnant waters
near them, where the people declared they
feldom fuffered from this ficknefs: but thefe
places were about twoor three degrees more

northerly. ne :
OTHERS were of opinion that diet did .
very much towards it, and chiefly laid the
blame upon the inconfiderate and intem-
perate confumption of fruit. This is par-
ticularly the cafe with the Europeans, who
come into America, and are not ufed ta its
climate and its fruit; for thofe who are
born here can bear more, yet are not en+
tirely free from the bad effects of eating too
much. I have heard many Englh/bmen,
Germans, and others fpeak from their own
experience on this account; they owned,

that they had often tried, and were certain -
that after eating a water melon once or —
twice before they had breakfafted, they
would have the fever and ague in a ond
ays

New ‘ferfey, Raccoon. 369

days after. Yet itis remarkable, that the
French in Canada told me that fevers were
lefs common in that country, though they
confumed as many water melons as the
Enghjb colonies, and that it had never been
obferved that they occafioned a fever; but
that on coming in the hot feafon to the
Ilinois, an Indian nation which is nearly in’
the fame latitude with Pen/y/vanza and New
Ferfey, they could not eat a water melon
without feeling the fhaking fits of an ague,
and that the Indians therefore warned them
not to eat of fo dangerous a fruit.. Query,
Does not this lead us to think that the
greater heat in Pen/y/vania, and the country
of the Z/4nozs, which are both five or fix
degrees more foutherly than Canada, makes
fruit in fome meafure more dangerous? In
the Exgh/h North American colonies, every
countryman plants a number of water me-
lons, which are eaten whilft the people
make hay, or during the harveft when they
have nothing upon their ftomachs, in order
to cool them during the great heat, as that
juicy fruit feems very proper to give re-
frefhment. In the fame manner melons,
cucumbers, gourds, {quafhes, mulberries,
apples, peaches, cherries, and fuch like
fruit are eaten here in fummer, and altoge-
ther contribute to the attacks of the ague.

| Aa But

370 November 1748.

Bur that the manner of living contributes
greatly towards it, may be concluded from —
the unanimous accounts of old people, con-
cerning the times of their childhood; ac-
cording to which, the inhabitants of thefe
parts, were at that time not fubject to fo
many difeafes as they are at prefent, and
people were feldom fick. All the old
Swedes likewife agreed, that their country-
men, who firft came into North America,
attained to a great age, and their children
nearly to the fame; but that their grand
children, and great grand children did not ©
reach the age of their anceftors, and their
health was not near fo vigorous and durable.
But the Swedes who fir fettled in America,
lived very frugally ; they were poor, and
could not buy rum, brandy, or other ftrong
liquors, which they feldom diftilled them-
felves, as few of them had a diftilling vef-
fel. However they fometimes had a good
{trong beer. They did not underftand the
art of making cyder, which is now fo com-
mon in the country: tea, coffee, choco-
late, which are at prefent even the country
people’s daily breakfaft, were wholly un- —
known to them: moft of them had never
tafted fugar or punch. The tea which is
now drank, is either very old, or mixed
with all forts of herbs, fo that it no longer

deferves

New Ferfey, Raccoon. 371

_ deferves the name of tea: therefore it can-
- not have any good effect upon thofe who
ufe it plentifully ; befides, it cannot fail
of relaxing the bowels, as it is drank both
in the morning and in the afternoon quite
boiling hot. The Indians, the offspring of

the firft inhabitants of this country, are a
proof of what I have faid. It is well known
that their anceftors, at the time of the firft
arrival of the Eurapeans, lived to a very
great age. According to the common ac-
counts, it was then not uncommon to find
people among the Indians, who were above
a hundred years old: they lived frugally,
and drank pure water: brandy, rum, wine,
and all the other {trong liquors, were utter-
ly unknown to them; but fince the chrif-
tians have taught them to drink thefe li-
guors, and the Indians have found them
too palatable, thofe who cannot refift their
appetites, hardly reach half the age of their
parents.

LasTLy, fome people pretended that
the lofs of many odoriferous plants, with
which the woods were filled at the arrival
of the Europeans, but which the cattle has
now extirpated, might be looked upon as
a caufe of the greater progrefs of the fever
at prefent. The number of thofe ftrong
plants occafioned a pleafant {cent to rife in

Aaz2 the

372 November 1748.

the woods every morning and evening. Ie

is therefore not unreafonable to think that —

the noxioufnefs of the effluvia from putrify-

ing fubftances was then prevented, fo that

they were not fo dangerous to the inhabi-
tants. | |

SEVERAL. remedies are employed againft
this difeafe: the jefuit’s bark was formerly a
certain one, but at prefent it has not always
this effect, though they fell it genuine, and
for the very beft. Many people accufed it
of leaving fomething noxious in the body.
Yet it was commonly obferved, that when
the bark was good, and it was taken as foon
as the fever made its appearance, and before
the body .was weakened, it was almoft
fure to conquer the fever, fo that the cold
fts never returned, and no pain or ftiffnefs
remained in the limbs; but when the di-
feafe is rooted in, and has confiderably weak--
ened the patients, or they are naturally very
weak, the fever leaves them after ufing the
jefuit’s bark, but returns again in a fort-
night’s time, and obliges them to take the
bark again; but the confequence frequently
is a pain and a ftiffnefs in their limbs, and
fometimes in their bowels, which almoft
hinders them from walking : this pain con-
tinues for feveral years together, and even

accompanies fome to the grave. ‘This bad
effect

a OS

New Ferfey, Raccoon. 373

effect is partly attributed to the bark, which
can feldom be got genuine here, and partly
to the little care which the patients take in
ufing the bark. A man of my acquaintance
was particularly dexterous in expelling the
ague by the ufe of the jefuit’s bark. His
manner of proceeding was as follows: when
it was poffible, the patient muft ufe the re-
medy as foon as the fever begun, and be-
fore it was fettled in his body: but before
he took the medicine, he was to take a dia-_
phoretic remedy, as that had been found
very falutary; and as the fever isyfrequent-
ly of fuch a nature here, as not to make
the patient {weat, even when the hot fit is
upon him, a perfpiration was to be brought
about by fome other means. To that pur-
pofe the patient took his dofe on the day
when he had his cold fit, and was not al-
lowed to eat any thing at night. ‘The next
morning he continued in a warm bed, drank
a quantity of tea, and was well covered that
he might perfpire plentifully. He conti-
nued fo till the perfpiration ceafed, and
then left the bed in a hot room, and wath-
ed his body with milk warm water, in or-
der to cleanfe it from the impurities that
fettled on it from the perfpiration, and to
prevent their {topping up of the pores. The
patient was then dried again, and at laft he

Aa} took

374. | November 1748.

took the bark feveral times in one day.
This was repeated twice or thrice on the
days after he had the ague, and it com-
monly left him without returning, and moft
people recover fo well, that they do not
look pale after their ficknefs,

Tue bark of the root of the Tus tree,
or Liriodendron Tulipifera, taken in the fame
manner as the jefuit’s bark, fometimes had
a fimilar effect.

SEVERAL people peeled the roots of the
Cornus florida, or Dog wood, and gave this
peel to the patients; and even fome people,
who could not be cured by the jefuit’s bark,
have recovered by the help of this. I have
likewife feen people cured of the fever, by
taking brimftone reduced to powder, and
mixed with fugar every night before they
went to bed, and every morning before they
got up: they took it three or four times in
the intervals, and at each time drank fome
warm liquor, to wafh the powder down.
However others that tried the fame remedy
did not find much relief from it.

SoME people collected the yellow bark of
the peach tree, efpecially that which is on

_ the root and boiled it in water, till half of

~ it was evaporated by boiling. Of this de-
co¢tion the patient took every morning
about a wine glafs full, before he had eaten

any

New “ferfey, Raccoon. 375

any thing. This liquor has a difagreeable
tafte, and contracts the mouth and tongue
like alum; yet feveral perfons at Raccoon
who had tried many remedies in vain, were
cured by this.

Oruers boiled the leaves of the Baten!
tilla reptans, or of the Potentzlla canadenfs,
in water, and made the patients drink it
before the ague fit came on, and it is well
known that feveral perfons have recovered
by this means.

Tue people who are fettled upon the

river Mohawk in New York, both Indians |,
and Europeans collect the root of the *

Geum rivale, and pound it. This powder
fome of them boil in water till it is a pret-
ty ftrong decoction: others only infufe
cold water on it and leave it fo for aday;
others mix it with brandy. Of this me-
dicine the patient is to take a wine glafs .
full on the morning of the day when the
fever does not come, before he has eat-
en any thing. I was affured that this was
one of the fureft remedies, and more cer-
tain than the jefuit’s bark.

Tue people who live near the iron

mines, declared that they were feldom or ..

never vifited by the fever and ague; but
when they have the fever, they drink the
water of fuch fountains, as arife from the

Aa4 iron

376 November 1748.

iron mines, and have a ftrong chalybeat

tafte ; and they affured me that this remedy

was infallible. Other people therefore who

did not live very far from fuch fprings,

went to them for a few days, when they

had the fever, in order to drink the water,
which commonly cured them. —

_ I wave already fhown above, that fage
mixed with lemon juice, has been found
very falutary again{t the ague. )

Ir was however univerfally remarkable,
that that which cures one perfon of it, has
no effect upon another. )

Tue pleurify is likewife a difeafe which
the people of this country are much fubject
to. The Swedes in this province call it
fiitches and burning, and they always mean
the pleurify whenever they mention thofe
words. Many of the old Swedes told me
that they had heard very little of it when
they were young, and that their parents —
had known ftill lefs of it in their childhood ;
but that it was fo common now, that many
people died every year of it: yet it has
been obferved, that in fome years this di-
feafe has been very moderate, and taken
few people away with it, whilft in other

"years it makes great havock : “it likewife is

more violent in fome places than in others.
In the autumn of the year 1728, it {wept —
away

New Serfey, Raccoon. — 377

away many at Penn’s neck, a place below
Raccoon, and nearer to the De/aware, where
a number of Swedes are fettled. Almoft all
the Swedes there died of it, though they
were very numerous. From hence it hap-
pened that their children who were left in
a very tender age, and grew up among
the Engh/h children, forgot their mother
tongue, fo that few of them underftand it
-at prefent. Since that time, though the
pleurify has every year killed a few people
at Penn’s neck, yet it has not carried off any
confiderable numbers. It refted as it were
till the autumn of the year 1748, but then
it began to make dreadful havock, and every
week fix or ten of the old people died.
The difeafe was fo violent, that when it at-
tacked a perfon, he feldom lived above two
or three days; and of thofe who were taken
ill with it, very few recovered. When the
pleurify was got into a houfe, it killed moft
of the old people in it: it was a true pleu-
rify, but it had a peculiarity with it, for it
commonly began with a great {welling un-
der the throat and in the neck, and with a
difficulty of {wallowing. Some people look-
ed upon it as contagious; and others feri-
oufly declared, that when it came into a fa- _
mily, not only thofe who lived in the fame
houfe fuffered from it, but even fuch rela-

| tions

378 November 1 748.

tions as lived far off. There have been fe-
veral people at Penn’s neck, who, without
vifiting their fick friends, have got the
pleurify and died of it: I do not difpute the
truth of this, though I do not agree to the
conclufion. The pleurify was the moft vio-
lent in November; yet fome old people died
of it even in the next winter; but children
were pretty free from it. The phyficians
did not know what to make of it, nor how
to remedy it. :
Ir is difficult to determine the caufes of
fuch violent difeafes. An old Exghjh fur-
geon who lived here gave the following
reafon. The inhabitants of this country
drink great quantities of punch and other
ftrong liquors in fummer, when it is very
hot ; by that means the veins in the dia-
phragm contraét, and the blood grows thick.
Towards the end of Odfober and the begin-
ning of November, the weather is apt to
alter very fuddenly, fo that heat and cold
change feveral times a day. When the
people during this changeable weather are
in the open air, they commonly get this
difeafe. It is likewife certain that the air
is more unwholefome one year, than ano-
- ther, which depends upon the heat, and
other circumftances: this peculiar quality
of the air muft of courfe produce a pleurify.

It

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 379

It is remarkable, that both in the year
1728, and in the prefent, when fo many
people died at Penn’s neck, few died at
Raccoon, though the two places are near
each other, and feem to have the fame foil
and climate. But there is this difference
that Penn’s neck lies remarkably low, and
Raccoon pretty high. The people in the
former place have fettled between marfhes
and fwamps, in which the water ftagnates
and putrifies; and moft of thefe places are
covered with trees, by which means the
wet is fhut up ftill more, and near fuch
marfhes, are the houfes. Laftly the water
at Penn’s neck is not reckoned fo good as
that in Raccoon, but has fome tatfte. It
likewife becomes brackith in feveral little
rivers when the Delaware during the tide
rifes very high,’ and runs up intothem. On
the banks of thefe rivulets live many of

the Swedes, and take water for common .”

ufe from them. ye

December the 3d. Tuis morning I fet, ~
out for Philadelphia, where I arrived in the
evening.

WILD grapes are very abundant in the
woods, and of various kinds; a fpecies of
them which are remarkable for their fize,
grow in the marfhes, and are greedily eaten
by the Raccoon: they are therefore called

mar fh

380 December 1748.
marfh grapes, but the Exglij/h call them fox

grapes; they have not an agreeable flavour,
and are feldom eaten by the inhabitants of
this country, who make ufe of a {mall kind

of wild grapes, which grow on a dry foil,

and pretty late in autumn when they are
quite ripe, are eaten raw, and have a very
good flavour, being a mixture of fweet
and acid: fome people dry thefe grapes
when gathered and bake them in tarts, &c.
they likewife make ufe of them as dried
{weetmeats. The Swedes formerly made a
pretty good wine from them; but have
now left it off. However fome of the Ez-
ghjb ftill prefs an agreeable liquor from
thefe grapes, which they aflured me was as
good as the beft claret, and that it would
keep for feveral years. !

Tue manner of preparing this fort of
wine has been defcribed at large in an al-
manack of this country, for the year 1743,

and is as follows: the grapes,are collected —

from the twenty firft of September to about
the eleventh of November, that is as they
grow ripe: they muft be gathered in dry
weather, and after the dew is gone off:
the grapes are cleared of the cobwebs, dry
leaves, and other things adhering to them.
Next a great hogfhead 1s prepared which has
either had treacle or brandy in; itis wafhed

, very

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. «gh

very clean, one of the bottoms beat out,
and the other placed ona ftand for the pur-
pofe, or on pieces of wood in the cellar, or
elfe in a warm room, about two feet above
the ground: the grapes are put into this
hogfhead, and as they fink lower in three
or four days time more are added. A man
with naked feet gets into the hogfhead and
treads the grapes, and in about half an
hour’s time the juice is forced out ; the man
then turns the loweft grapes uppermoft,
and treads them for about a quarter of
an hour: this is fufficient to f{queeze the
good juice out of them: for an additio-
nal prefiure would even crufh the unripe
grapes, and give the whole a difagreea-
ble flavour. The hogfhead is then co-
vered with a thick blanket; but if there
is nocellar, oritis very cold, two are f{pread
over it. Under this covering the juice is
left to ferment for the firft time, andin the
next four or five days it ferments and works
very ftrongly. As foonas the fermentation
ceafes, a hole is made about fix inches from
the bottom, and fome of the juice is tapped
off about twice in a day. As foon as this
is clear and fettled, it is poured into an
anker of a middling fize; for from twenty
bufhels of grapes, they get about as many
gallons of juice: the anker remains un-

| touched

382 December 1748.

touched and the muft in it ferments a fe-
cond time: at this time it is neceffary thae
the anker be quite full; the fcum which
fettles at the bunghole, muft be taken off,
and the anker always filled up with more
muft, which is kept ready for that pur-
pofe: this is continued till chriftmas, when
the anker may be ftopped up; at laft the
wine is ready in Fedruary and bottled. It
is likewife ufual here, to put fome of the
ripe grapes into a veffel in order to make a
vinegar, and that which is got by this
means is very good. Several people made
brandy from thefe grapes which has a very
pleafant tafte, but is ftill more pleafant,
if the fruits of the perfimon are mixed
with it. The wood of thefe vines is of no
ufe, it is fo brittle that it cannot be ufed
for fticks: on cutting into the ftem, a
white, infipid refin comes out a few hours
after the wound ismade. In many gardens
vines are planted for the purpofe of making
arbours for which they are indeed excellent;
as their large and plentiful leaves form a
very clofe cover again{ft the {corching heat of
the fun. When the vines flower here in
May and une, the flowers exhale a ftrong,
but exceeding pleafant and refrefhing fmell,
which is perceptible even at a great dif-
tance. Therefore on coming into the woods

about

Penfyluania. Philadelphia. 383

about that time, you may judge from the
{weet perfume in the air, arifing from the
flowers of the vines, that you are near them,
though you do not fee them. Though the
winters be ever fo fevere, yet they do not
affe&t the vines. Each grape is about the
fize of a pea, but further fouthward they
are faid to be of the fize of common raifins,
and of a finer flavour. Further up in the
country, during a part of autumn, they are
the chief food of bears, who climb up the
trees in order to pluck them. People are
of opinion that if the wild vines were cul-
tivated with more care, the grapes would
grow larger, and more palatable.

December the 5th. I sua here men-
tion two prognofticks of the weather, which
were greatly valued here. Some people
pretended to foretel that the enfuing winter
would not be a fevere one: this they con-
jectured from having feen wild geefe and
other migratory birds go to the fouth in
Oéfober, but return a few days ago in great
numbers, and-even pafs on further to the
north. Indeed the enfuing winter was one
of the moft temperate ones.

SEVERAL perfons likewife affured us that
we fhould have rain before to morrow night.
The reafon they gave for this conjecture
was, that this morning at fun rifing, from

their

a December 1748.

their windows they had feen every thing
very plainly on the other fide of the river,
fo that it appeared much nearer than ufual,
and that this commonly foreboded rain.
This prefage was likewife pretty exadly
fulfilled. | |
~~Tue Indians before the arrival of the
Europeans, had no notion of the ufe of iron,
though that metal was abundant in their
country. However they knew in fome
meafure how to make ufe of copper. Some |
Dutchmen who. lived here, ftill preferved
the old account among them, that their
anceftors on their firft fettling in New York
had met with many of the Indians, who
had tobacco pipes of copper, and who made
them underftand by figns, that they got
them in the neighbourhood: afterwards the
fine copper mine was difcovered, upon the
fecond river between Elzabeth-town and
New York. On digging in this mine, the
people met with holes worked in the moun-
tain, out of which fome copper had been
taken, and they found even fome tools,
which the Indians probably made ufe of,
when they endeavoured to get the metal for
their pipes. Such holes in the mountains
have likewife been found in fome parts of
Penfylvania, viz. below Newca/tle towards
the fea fide, and always fome marks of a
copper

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 385

‘copper ore along with them. Some peo-
ple have conjectured, that the Spanzards,
after difcovering Mexico, failed along the
coafts of North America, and landed now
and then, in order to enquire whether any
gold or filver was to be met with, and that
they perhaps made thefe holes in the moun-
tains: but fuppofing them to have made
fuch a voyage along the coafts, they could
not immediately have found out the copper
mines ;.and they probably did not ftop to
blaft this ore, as they were bent only upon
gold and filver; it is therefore almoft un-
doubted that the Indians dug thefe holes :
or may we be allowed to fufpect that our
old Normans, long before the difcoveries of
Columbus, came into thefe parts and met
with fuch veins of copper, when they {fail-
ed to what they called the excellent Wine-
land,* of which our ancient traditional re-
cords called Sagor f{peak, and which un-
doubtedly was North America. But in re-
gard to this, I fhall have occafion in the
fequel better to explain my fentiments. It
was remarkable, that in all thofe places
where fuch holes have lately been found in
the mountains, which manifeftly feem to

have

* See for this opinion the fcarce and curious work intitled,
Torfai hiftoria Vinlandie antique feu partis America feptentri-
onalis. Hafnie 1715. 4to. F '

386 December 1748.

have been dug by men, they were always.

covered with a great quantity of earth, asif
they were intended to remain hidden from
ftrangers. ny

December the 6th. _ On long voyages the
failors fometimes catch fuch fifh as are
known to none of the fhip’s company ; but

as they are very greedy after freth provifi-

ons, they feldom abftain from eating them.
however it proves often venturing too much,
experience haying fhown, that their want of
caution has often coft them their lives, for
fometimes poifonous fifh are caught. But
there is a method of finding them out, as I
have heard from feveral captains of fhips :
it is ufual when fuch unknown fifh are boil-
ed, to put a falver button, or any piece of
filver into the kettle, which if the fith be
poifonous, will turn quite black, but if it
be not, it will not change: fome of the
feamen referred to their own repeated expe-
rence.* 14% 7
_ Mr. Franklin and feveral other gentle
men frequently told me, that a powerful
id Indian,

_* Turis experiment with the filver, fuppofes that the broth
of the fifh would be fo ftrong as to act as a folvent upon the
filver; but there may be poifons, which would not affect the
filver, and however prove fatal to men; the fureft way there-
fore would be to fupprefs that appetite, which may become
fatal not only to a few men of the crew, but alfo endanger
the whole fhip, by the lofs of neceflary hands. F.

-
———-

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 387

Indian, who poffefled Rhode Ifand had fold
it to the Engi/b for a pair of {pectacles: it
is large enough for a prince’s domain, and
makes a peculiar government at prefent.
This Indian knew to fet a true value upon
a pair of fpectacles: for undoubtedly if
thofe glaffes were not fo plentiful, and only
a few of them could be found, they would
on account of their great ufe, bear the fame
price with diamonds.

Tue fervants which are made ufe of in
the Engl/h American colonies are either free
perfons, or flaves, and the former are again
of two different forts.

1. THose who are quite free ferve by
the year, they are not only allowed to leave |
their fervice at the expiration of their year,
but may leave it at any time when they do
not agree with their mafters. However in
that cafe they are in danger of lofing their
wages, which are very confiderable. A
man fervant who has fome abilities, gets
between fixteen and twenty pounds in Pen-
_ fylvania currency, but thofe.in the country
do not get fo much> -A fervant maid gets
eight or ten pounds a year: thefe fervants
have their food befides their wages, but
muft buy their own clothes, and what they
get of thefe they muft thank their mafter’s
goodnefs. for.

Bb 2 2. THE

388 —— December 1748.

2. Ine fecond kind of free fervants con-
fift of fuch perfons as annually come from
Germany, England and other countries, in
order to fettle here. Thefe new comers are
very numerous every year: there are oldand
young ones, and of both fexes; fome of
them have fled from oppreffion, under |
which they fuppofed themfelves to have
laboured. Others have been driven from
their country by perfecution on account
of religion; but moft of them are poor,
and have not money enough to pay their
paflage, which is. between fix and eight
pounds fterling for each perfon; therefore
they agree with the captain that they will
fuffer themfelves to be fold for a few years,
‘on their arrival. In that cafe the perfon
who buys them, pays the freight for them,
but frequently very old people come over,
who cannot pay their paflage, they there-
fore fell their children, fo that they ferve
both for themfelves and for their parents :
there are likewife fome who pay part of
their paflage, and they are fold only for a
fhort time. From thefe circumftances it
appears, that the price of the poor foreigners
who come over to North America is not
equal, and that fome of them ferve longer
than others: when their time is expired,
they get a new {uit of clothes from their

matter

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 389

mafter, and fome other things: he is_like-
wife obliged to feed and clothe them
during the years of their fervitude. Many
of the Germans who come hither, ‘bring
money enough with them to pay their paf-
face, but rather fuffer themfelves to be fold,
with a view that during their fervitude they _
may get fome knowledge of the language
and quality of the country, and the like,
that they may the better be able to confider
what they fhall do when they have got their
liberty. Such fervants are taken preferable
to all others, becaufe they are not fo dear;
for to buy a Negroe or black flave, requires
too much money at once; and men or
maids who get yearly wages, are likewife
too dear; but this kind of fervants may be
_ got for half the money, and even for lefs ;
for they commonly pay fourteen pounds,
Penfyluania currency, for a perfon who is
to ferve four years, and fo on in proportion.
Their wages therefore are not above three
pounds Pen/fylvania currency per ann. This
kind of fervants, the Engh/b call /ervings.
When a perfon has bought fuch a fervant
for a certain number of years, and has an
intention to fell him again, he is at liberty
to do fo; but he is obliged, at the expira-
tion of the term of the fervitude to provide .
the ufual fuit of cloaths for the fervant, un-
Bb 3 lefs

390 _ December 1748.

lefs he has made. that, part of the bargain
with the purchafer. The Ezghjh and
Irifb commonly fell themfelves for four
years, but the Germans frequently agree
with the captain before they fet out, to
pay him a certain fum of money, for acer-
tain number of perfons; as foon as they ar-
rive in America, they go about and try to
get a man who will pay the paflage for
them. In return they give according to
the circumftances one, or feveral of their
children to ferve a certain number of years,
at laft they make their bargain with the
higheft bidder.

3. Tue Negroes or Blacks make the third
kind. They are in a manner flaves; for
when a Negro is once bought, he is the
purchafer’s fervant as long as he lives, un-
lefs he gives him to another, or makes him
free. However it is not in the power of
the mafter to kill his Negro for a fault, but
he mutt leave it to the magiftrates to pro-
ceed according to the laws. Formerly the
Negroes were brought over from frica,
and bought by almoft every one who could
afford it. The quakers alone fcrupled to
have flaves; but they are no longer fo nice,
and they have as many Negroes as other
people. However many people cannot con-
quer the idea of its being contrary a the

aws

—

Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 391

laws of chriftianity to keep flaves. ‘There
are likewife feveral free Negroes in town,
who have been lucky enough to get a very
zealous quaker for their mafter, who gave
them their liberty, after they had faithfully
ferved him for fome time.

AT prefent they feldom bring over any
Negroes to the Engl/h colonies, for thofe
which were formerly brought thither have
multiplied confiderably. In regard to their
martiage they proceed as follows: in cate
you have not only male but likewife fe-
male Negroes, they muft intermarry, and
then the children are all your flaves: but

if you poffefs a male Negro only, and he

has an inclination to marry a female belong-
ing to a different mafter, you do not hinder
your Negro in fo delicate a point; but it is
nio advantage to you, for the children be-
long to the mafter of the female; it fs
therefore advantageous to have Negro-
women. A man who kills his Negro muft
fuffer death for it: there is not however an
example here of a white man’s having been
executed on this account. A few years
ago it happened that a mafter killed his
flave; his friends and even the magiftrates
fecretly advifed him to leave the country,
as otherwife they could not avoid taking
him prifoner, and then he would be con-

Bb 4 demned

392 December 1748.

demned to die according to the laws of the
country, without any hopes of faving him, —
This lenity was employed towards him,
that the Negroes might not have the fatif-
faction of feeing a mafter executed for kill-
ing his flave; for this would lead them to
all forts of dangerous defigns againft their
mafters, and to value themfelves too much.
Tue Negroes were formerly brought from
Africa, as 1 mentioned before; but now
this feldom happens, for they are bought
in the Weft Indies, or American Iflands, whi-
ther they were originally brought from their
own country: for it has been found that
on tranfporting the Negroes from Africa,
immediately into thefe northern countries,
they have not fuch a good {tate of health,
as when they gradually change places, and
are firft carried from Africa to the Weft In-
dies, and from thence to North America.
It has frequently been found, that the Ne-
groes cannot ftand the cold here fo well as
the Europeans or whites; for whilft. the
latter are not in the leaft affected by the
cold, the toes and fingers of the former are
frequently frozen. There is likewife a ma-
terial difference among them in this point;
for thofe who come immediately from 4/r7-
ca, cannot bear the cold fo well as thofe
who are either born in this country, or
have

Penfy lvania, Philadelphia. 393.

have been here for a confiderable time; for
the froft eafily hurts the hands or feet of
the Negroes which come from 4frica, or
occafions violent pains in their whole body, |
or in fome parts of it, though it does not
at all affect thofe who have been here for
fome'time. There are frequent examples
that the Negroes on their paflage from
Africa, if it happens in winter, have fome
ef their limbs deftroyed by froft on board the
fhip, when the cold is but very inconfiderable
and the failors are fcarce obliged to cover
their hands. I was evenaflured, that fome
Negroes have been feen here, who have had
an exceffive pain in their legs, which after-
wards broke in the middle, and dropt en-
tirely from the body, together with the fleth
onthem. Thus it is the fame cafe with
men here, as with plants which are brought
from the fouthern countries, and cannot ac-
cuftom themfelves to a colder climate.

Tue price of Negroes differs according
to their age, health and abilities. A full
grown Negro cofts from forty pounds and
upwards to a hundred of Pen/fy/vania cur-
rency.. There are even examples that a
gentleman has paid hundred pounds for a
black flave at Philadelphia, and refufed to
fell him again for the fame money. A Ne-
gro boy, or girl, of two or three years old,
can hardly be got for lefs than eight or

fourteen

394 December 1748.

fourteen pounds in Pen/ylvanian currency.
Not only the quakers, but likewife feveral
chriftians of other denominations fometimes
fet their Negroes at liberty. This is done
if the following manner: when a gentle-
man has a faithful Negro who has done
him great fervices, he fometimes declares
him independent at his death. This is
however very expenfive ; for they are oblig-
ed to make a provifion for the Negro thus
fet at liberty, to afford him fubfittence
when he is grown old, that he may not
be driven by necefflity to wicked aétions,
or that he may be at any body’s charge,
for thefe free Negroes become very lazy and
indolent afterwards. But the children which
the free Negro has begot during his fervi-
tude are all flaves, though their father be
free. On the other hand thofe Negro chil-
dren are free whofe parents are at liberty.
The Negroes in the North American colo-
niés are treated more mildly, and fed better
than thofe in the Weft Indies. They have
as good food as the reft of the fervants, and
they poffefs equal advantages in all things,
except their being obliged to ferve their
whole life time, and get no other wages
than what their mafter’s goodnefs allows
them: they are likewife clad at their
mafter’s expence. On the contrary, in the
Weft Indies, and efpecially in the Spani/h

Iflands

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 395

Tflands they are treated very cruelly ; there-
fore no threats make more impreffion upon
a Negro here, than that of fending him
over to the Wef Indies, in cafe he would
not reform. It has likewife been frequent-
ly found by experience, that when .you
fhow too much remifine(s to thefe Negroes,
they grow fo obftinated, that they will no
longer do any thing but of their own ac-
cord: therefore a ftrict difcipline is very
neceflary, if their .mafter expects to be fa-

tisfied with their fervices. |
In the year 1620, fome Negroes were
brought to North America in a Dutch hip,
and in Virginia they bought twenty of them.
Thefe are faid to have been the firft that
came hither. When the Indians who were
then more numerous in the country than at
prefent, faw thefe black people for the firft
time, they thought they were a true breed
of Devils, and therefore they called them
Manitto for a great while: this word in
their language fignifies not only God, but
likewife the Devil. Some time before that,
when they faw the firft European fhip on
their coafts, they were perfectly perfuaded
that God himfelf was in the fhip. This
account I got from fome Indians, who pre-
ferved it among them as a tradition which
they had received from their anceftors :
therefore the arrival of the Negroes feemed
te

396 -. December 1748.

to them to have confufed every thing; but
fince that time, they have entertained lefs
difagreeable notions of the Negroes, for at
prefent many live among them, and they
even fometimes intermarry, as I myfelf
have feen.

Tue Negroes have therefore been up-
wards of a hundred and thirty years in this
country: but the winters here efpecially in
New England and New York, are as fevere
as our Swedi/h winters. I therefore very
carefully enquired whether the cold had
not been obferved, to affect the colour of
the Negroes, and to change it, fo that the
third or fourth generation from the firft that
came hither, were not fo black as their an-
ceftors. But I was generally anfwered, that
there was not the leaft difference of colour
to be perceived; and that a Negro born
here of parents which were likewife born
in this country, and whofe anceftors both
men and women had all been blacks born
in this country, up to the third or fourth
generation, was not at all different in co-
lour, from thofe Negroes who are brought
directly over from Africa. From hence
many people conclude, that a Negro or his
pofterity do not change colour, though they ©
continue ever fo long in a cold climate ; but
the mixing of a white man with a Negro
woman, or of a Negro with a white woman

has

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 397

has a different effect, therefore to prevent
any difagreeable mixtures of the white peo-
ple and Negroes, and that the Négroes may
not form too great an opinion of them-
felves, to the difadvantage of their matters,
Tam told there is a law made prohibiting
the whites of both fexes to marry Negroes,
under pain of death, and deprivation of the
clergyman who marries them: but that
the whites and blacks fometimes mix, ap-
pears from children of a mixed complexion,
which are fometimes born. pt
Ir is likewife greatly to be pitied, that
the mafters of thefe Negroes in moft of the
Englifh colonies take little care of their
{piritual welfare, and let them live on in
their pagan darknefs. There are even fome,
who would be very ill pleafed at, and would
by all means hinder their Negroes from be-
ing inftructed in the do@rines of chriftianity,
to this they are partly led by the conceit
of its being fhameful, to have a fpiritual
brother or fafter among fo defpicable a peo-
ple, partly by thinking that they fhould not
be able to keep their Negroes fo meanly
afterwards ; and partly through fear of the
Negroes growing too proud, on feeing
themfelves upon a level with their mafters
in religious matters.
SEVERAL writings are well known, which
mention, that the Negroes in South Ame-
| rica

398 December 1748.

rica have a kind of poifon with which they
, kill. each other, though the effe& is not

_y fudden, but happens a long time after the

'\ perfon has taken it : the fame dangerous art
of poifoning is known by the Negroes in-
North America, as has frequently been expe-
rienced. However only a few of them know
the fecret, and they likewife know the. re-
medy againft it, therefore when a Negro
feels himfelf poifoned and can recolle& the
enemy, who might poflible have given him
the poifon, he goes to him, and endeavours by
money and entreaties to move him to deliver
him from the poifon; but if the Negro is
malicious, he does not only deny that he
ever poifoned him, but likewife that he
knows a remedy againft it: this poifon.
does not kill immediately, for fometimes
the fick perfon dies fome years after. But
from the moment he has the poifon he falls
into a confumption and enjoys few days of
good health: fuch a poor wretch often knows
that he is poifoned, the moment he gets the
poifon. The Negroes commonly employ
it on fuch of their brethren as behave well,
' are beloved by their mafters, and feparate
as it were from their countrymen, or do
not like toconverfe with them. They have
likewife often other reafons for their enmi-
ty; but there are few examples of their
: | having

Penfyluania, Philadelphia. 399

having poifoned their mafters. Perhaps the
mild treatment they receive, keeps them
from doing it, or perhaps they fear that they
may be difcovered, and that in {uch ‘a cafe,
the fevereft punifhments would be inflicted
on them. |
_ Tey never difcover what the poifon
confifts of, and keep it fecret beyond con-
ception. It is probable that it is a very
common thing which may be got all the
world over, for wherever they are they can
always eafily procureit. Therefore it can-
not be a plant, as feveral learned men
have thought; for that is not to be met
with every where. I have heard many ac-
counts here of Negroes who have been
killed by this poifon. I {hall only mention
one incident which happened during my
{tay in this country. A man here had a
Negro who was exceedingly faithful to him,
and behaved fo well, that he would not
have given him for twenty other Negroes.
His mafter likewife fhewed him a peculiar
kindnefs, and the flave’s conduct equalled
that of the beft chriftian fervant; he like-
wife converfed as little as poffible with the
other Negroes; on that account they hated
him to excefs, but as he was fcarce ever in
company with them, they had no opportu-
nity of conveying the poifon to him, which
they

400 December 1748. |

they had often tried. However on coming

to town during the fair (for he lived in the
country) fome other Negroes invited him
to drink with them. At firft he would
not, but they prefied him till he was obli-
ged to comply. As foon as he came into

the room, the others took a pot from the-

wall and pledged him, defiring him to drink
likewife : he drank, but when he took the
pot from his mouth, he faid what beer is
this? It is full of ******_~. Dopurpotely
omit what he mentioned, for it feems un-
doubtedly to have been the name of the
poifon with which malicious Negroes do fo
much harm, and which is to be met with
almoft every where. It might be too much
employed to wicked purpofes, and it is
therefore better that it remains unknown.
The other Negroes and Negro-women fell
a laughing at the complaints of their hated
‘countryman, and danced and fung as if they
had done an excellent action, and had at
-laft obtained the point fo much withed for.
The innocent Negro went away immedi-
ately, and when he got home, faid that the
other Negroes had certainly poifoned him:
he then fell into a confumption, and no
remedy could prevent his death.

End of Vou. I.

sae

apOVEeR TISEMEN’T.

HE whole Sheet Map of a
: great Part of North America,
intended for the Illuftration
_ of thefe Travels, could not be got rea-_
dy in Time for the firft Volume, on
Account of its Size and the great many
Names of Places brought into it, which
muft give it a Superiority above any
Map hitherto publifhed of this Part of —
the World: but the Tranflator hopes,
the Public will the more readily excufe
this Omiffion, as it will greatly tend to
make the Map more perfect, and as
the fecond Volume will foon appear,
where itfhall undoubtedly be inferted.
At the fame Time he intreats the
Encouragers of this Work to compleat
the Subfcriptions for the fecond Vo-
lume, and to favour him with the
Lifts of Subfcribers as foon as poffible;
and if any more Gentlemen will favour
him with their Subfcriptions, he will
look upon it as an incentive the more
vigoroufly to go on with the reft of
the Publication..

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